


Le Diable n'a jamais peur

by Bebec



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Deckerstar - Freeform, Drama, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Humor, Relationship(s), Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2018-10-24 16:27:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 56,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10745460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bebec/pseuds/Bebec
Summary: He stood her up. Things could have gone differently. For both. Post S02x09.Sexual content.





	1. Half past nine

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! A new story translated for you (I almost finished to write it in French so...Time to translate it for you! )  
> I hope you'll enjoy it. :)))))  
> Happy reading!

Half past nine pm.  

He was late.  

Did he just want to go?  

Lucifer stared intently at the wall clock placed above his private bar, scrutinizing – without blinking for a single moment – the small needle to advance a few millimeters each second passed.  

Thirty-one past nine pm.  

He practically didn't breathe, in full internal torment. Should he go? Should he stay here? Was it just a matter of duty? Or _wanting_?  

What did he want?  

Stay here? Hiding in his penthouse like a coward? Was it cowardice?  

Lucifer was lost. He'd never felt that before. Emotions were quite new for a little more than a year. Their incredible influence on his behavior was even more so. He was a fallen angel. The Devil, but certainly not a robot. He was obviously experiencing all sorts of emotions since his conception by the Holy Paternal and the Goddess of the Creation. Anger, envy. And many others. For some time, however, he had no control over them. They controlled him. Leading him. In the proper way or not.  

He didn't know what to do. Paralyzed by contradictory and absurd emotions. Paralyzed by the words of his therapist. Why is that? His therapist was wrong. It was more than obvious.  

He wasn't afraid.  

No...He wasn't.  

Lucifer stopped staring at the clock, looking  - with his dark eyes – at the amber liquid contained in his glass. Liquid with brilliant shades. One might have thought that it contained liquid gold. Gold...Like her hair.  

Lucifer sighed and internally cursed himself. The Devil...cursing himself....He could have found it quite ironic if he didn't have his mind completely turned over in this late hour.  

It was only a dinner.  

A banal meal.  

With her.  

Together.  

One-on-one.  

**_" Why is it that I'm the only_** ** _human_** ** _in your life who knows who you really are? "_**  

Lucifer emptied his glass in one go and glanced at his cell phone. She texted him. Half an hour ago. She was waiting for him. She was worried about him. He didn't understand that kind of reaction. Her concern lighted a gentle warmth in his chest without his understanding. He stared at the screen and the text a moment, absentmindedly caressing the rough surface of his cell phone, uncertain.  

Should he answer her? Do nothing? Pretend that she wasn't waiting for him there? 

Why the mere fact of imagining her alone at this table put him out of his mind?!  

**_" I think you indeed come to Los Angeles looking for something. But I also think you've stopped...Because maybe you've found it. "_**  

Had he found it?  

What had he found?  

Lucifer watched successively the clock and his cell phone, his hands nervously caressing the crystalline surface of the glass on the counter. He hardly swallowed – an unpleasant ball blocking his throat – and watched the small needle move a few centimeters further.  

A new sigh crossed his lips before he grabbed his phone and keys  - placed farther on the bar – and moved away from the marbled structure.  

"Bloody Hell..."


	2. Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the many views in only several hours! :)   
> A new chapter as a reward XD

Chloe caressed the transparent surface of her glass with her thin fingers.  

The third. The third she drank... alone. With her empty glasses. Alone with her thoughts.  

She wasn't supposed to be alone.  

Why was she alone at this table?  

The young woman brought a strand of rebellious hair behind her ear and glanced at her cell phone on the table.  

No text. Except hers.  

**" I'm here "**  

**" You want me to order you something? "**  

No answer.  

One hour. Sixty long minutes no-show. An eternity to the detective. She saw the other customers glanced at her, looking sincerely sorry for her. The impression she made had to be...pathetic.  

A young woman alone at a table for two. Watching frantically a sign of life, an apparition, a reassuring news via her phone. Makeup on, all dressed up....for a man who didn't deign to show himself or text her.  

He could at least have texted her. Send her an apology, even phony...it would have sufficed.  

Chloe put down her phone more violently then she would, the screen against the pristine white tablecloth. She looked at the rest of the restaurant, people. She bit her lower lip, furious at herself. Furious against him also.  

Especially against him.  

She was angry with him for making her believe he would come. That they would spend a good time together, outside the work and the carnal ambush that he held out to her all the time.  

And the detective blamed herself too. To have believed him. Letting her guard down. To have seen in Lucifer something that wasn't here. She had so wished to be wrong about him. Being wrong when she thought having no more less than a heartless man in front of her. A selfish and depraved bastard. 

 She blamed herself for believing that her and Lucifer were close. Friends. More than that... 

She'd believed in a rapprochement between them when they had embraced in her kitchen. Chloe shuddered at the remembrance of Lucifer's warm and reassuring touch...with his protective, powerful arms around her. Of this silent and tender embrace. It had been so long that the young woman hadn't fell so wall, so safe.  

She'd believed in a future for them. A more than friendly future. She'd believed it when she saw his face lit up. Be purged of all these false pretenses. Of all this comedy. This inaccessible role he'd stopped playing when she had given him the opportunity to buy his club back. This sincere wonder into his black eyes.  

No game.  

No exaggeration or indecent proposition.  

Just...Lucifer. The real Lucifer.  

Chloe let out a long sigh and watched her watch at her wrist. One hour and five minutes... 

Why was she staying at this table?  

Why was she still hoping?  

Chloe wanted to leave. Forgetting her futile hopes. Coming to her senses. And yet...she persisted in waiting. Standing obstinately at this beautiful decorated table. He wouldn't come anymore. Why would he appear now, after an hour?  

Why?  

The young woman took her drink and carried it to her lips, tasting the scented cocktail. She took a sip as she watched every new person entering the restaurant. The disappointment weighed more heavily on her shoulders every second that passed, each person coming inside and not being the man she coveted...she hoped to see in front of her.  

She was ridiculous.  

" Looking for someone? ", asked a grave voice at the recognizable accent just above her left shoulder.  

 

************

 

 

 

Chloe jumped slightly, her heart beating more forcefully in her chest as she heard that voice. She closed her eyes a moment, a smile adorned her lips in spite of herself. She turned to the left, her face raised to the man that she'd been waiting for an eternity.  

She still didn't know if it worth it, but she hoped it would.  

Lucifer was standing behind her – slightly leaning over her ear – a charming smile on his face. He wore a purple silk shirt beneath a perfect black jacket. As always. She didn't expected less with him. She could see the birth of his muscular torso with his collar open. Chloe noticed the harsh breath of her partner, a breath that tickled her cheek, their faces fairly close to each other.  

A proximity that didn't seem to bother them.  

The young woman wondered why Lucifer had trouble catching his breath. Had he... _run_? Why? He was late, no doubt...But why had he hurried? She'd have expected him to arrive with great fanfare, preceded by an eccentric parade and the nonchalance she knew him.  

Here...Right now...He seemed relaxed, but his eyes and his slightly tight face showed a certain nervousness. A surprising thing coming from him. He who took everything lightly.  

Why was he nervous?  

Was he afraid of her reaction? That she brushed him off ?  

Her smile widened and she narrowed her eyes as Lucifer finally sat at their table, with the grace and nonchalance of its own.  

" An eccentric billionaire owner of a nightclub who invites his partner to the restaurant but only deigns to show up after an hour's wait...", replied the detective gently by putting her glass on the table. " You haven't seen him by any chance, have you? "  

Lucifer smiled more, revealing his perfect dentition. A communicative smile. Chloe felt her smile widen and the negative emotion she'd felt until then gradually dissipated. Her partner leaned towards her, approaching her as much as possible, his face feigning indignation. 

" If I'd met such a bounder, Detective, you can imagine that I'll sent him roast to Hell! ", he said.  

Chloe let out a laugh, shaking her head at Lucifer's nonsense. Nonsense that made her smile in all circumstances. Even thought he was responsible for those negative emotions felt earlier. Lucifer exchanged a smile of complicity with the young woman, their amused eyes plunged one into the other.  

" Sure! " , she said, drinking a new sip.  

A waiter came up to their table, handing each other a red menu.  Lucifer grabbed it without a look for the waiter, his onyx eyes still immersed in the lighter ones of his partner. She didn't shift her gaze from him either as she took the menu.  

They were alone.  

And Chloe was no longer alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget comments...they make my day...and night!


	3. What about Latin?

Lucifer watched Chloe over his menu.  

Her gestures.  

The way she nibbled her lower lip.  

Her thin golden hair stroking her neck.  

Her graceful hand holding the menu, the other around her glass.  

He watched her... stared af her without hiding it.  

And Chloe did the same. Plunging her gray gaze on the lines of the menu when Lucifer surprised her in insistent observation. He smiled at her then. A smirk. A charming smile. Not a mocking or sufficient smile – he knew he had a way with women even if the detective had demonstrated an astonishing and tenacious resistance to his charm – towards her.  

He smiled. Quite simply.  

A simple smile. Without frills. Without exaggeration.  

That was quite new for him.  

And this newness delighted him... and disturbed him. A lot. The Devil wasn't use to be thus confused. By a simple human. A simple one-on-one. With her.  

Chloe.  

A delicious mystery for him. And so strange... All these emotions he felt at this very moment. How the human beings do with these things? How did they not go crazy? Everything was so confusing... and limpid. It was puzzling. He felt perfectly good, as he had never been before... and also nervous. As he'd never been in his whole existence. For nervousness was a notion totally unknown to him. That kind of nervousness, at least. The clammy hands, his heart that drummed strongly in his chest... short of breath at each glance exchanged with the detective.  

They had already "looked" at each other many times. A hundred times, probably. Why looking into her eyes was so disturbing for him here? Why did he feel an internal fire – quite ironic for The Prince of Darkness, he noticed -  warm gently his belly with every smile that the young woman addressed him? Lucifer had already felt the heat of carnal passion or of rage, hatred. This fire... this heat was something else. A delightful and confusing thing for him.  

 

 ** _" I think you indeed come to Los Angeles looking for something..."_**  

What had he been looking for in this town? What was he looking for tonight? With her?  

Lucifer was there in his thoughts when the slender voice of the penguin-waiter sounded at his sides. He stopped staring at the young woman – who turned to the waiter – and tried to listen and understand the words coming from the young man's mouth.  

" You made up your mind? " 

Lucifer looked at Chloe again. The latter had gone back to looking at the content of the menu, seemingly dubious about all the choices offered.  Her partner closed his own menu and gave a charming smile to the penguin standing near the table.  

" Alors... Que nous propose donc le chef ce soir? " , he asked in a perfect French.  

Chloe briefly widened her eyes of surprise before staring at Lucifer with her typical "cop" glance, scrutinizing him to give a valuable reason for what she had just heard. He let himself be spied again as he conversed politely with the waiter who was pleasantly surprised by his language proficiency and redoubling his efforts to satisfy his desires and hers. Their conversation lasted a few more minutes before the penguin retired with a precise command in hand.  

Lucifer watched as the waiter walked away towards the kitchen before looking again at the detective, the latter staring at him with an oppressive insistence.  

" Is something wrong, Detective? " , he asked her as he got him a generous dose of red wine.  

Chloe was still holding her opened menu in front of her, her gray eyes detailed without restraint the man sitting in front of her. She closed the menu and dropped it on the edge of the table, crossing her hands against the tablecloth.  

" You speak French? "  

Lucifer let out a chuckle. A stupid question. He drank a sip of wine under Chloe's gaze. He'd never felt so much "watched" of his whole life. There were worst things than being stared by a woman like her. Much worse. He appreciated the subtle fragrance of the alcoholic beverage which descended into his throat and then placed his glass on the table, his hand gently caressing its base .  

" Of course I speak French, Detective! ", he exclaimed. "I'm the Devil, languages hold no secrets for me....Every language practice... literally and figuratively..." , he added with a winning smile.  

The young woman shook her head to his comment, a smile drawing out in spite of herself on her beautiful lips. Lucifer leaned back more comfortably on his seat, delighted to see that smile appear again on his partner's face. And troubled by the feeling of plenitude, of well-being that submerged him at this simple sight.  

Still this heat... 

Chloe narrowed her eyes, her thoughts visible into her clear eyes. She seemed sceptical about his...extent language knowledge. Lucifer waited patiently for her to challenge him. He knew she would. At one time or another. And some game didn't bother him. He loved games.  

" So...since the Devil's supposed to be unbeatable with languages...since _you_ 're supposed to be unbeatable, I can tell you a sentence and you'll translate it...whatever the language I choose? ", she insinuated, exchanging a complicit look with Lucifer.  

" Choose....Choose a language, Detective! Feel free to choose a more.. _.p_ _rivate_  language...If that's what you truly desire! ", he said as he leaned towards her, his hands a few millimeters from her own.  

The young woman drew back her hands, like she'd been electrocuted by their physical proximity, her cheeks lightly pinking at her partner's salacious allusion. She leaned back in her own seat, scrutinizing Lucifer as the latter waited again for her. Wait didn't bother him.  

He was with her.  

He could hardly believed that – one hour ago of this – he'd lamentably hidden in his penthouse to avoid this date. Of course, Lucifer still had a bunch of disconcerting emotions to deal with. But it didn't matter right now. He focused on the present moment. On her.  

" Mmmmh....", Chloe seemed to think out loud. " Sorry, I'm late...in....Spanish", she finally asked.  

Lucifer didn't understand this choice of language in particular. An irrelevant language. But the sentence was so meaningful. Lucifer put back his hands on his knees, a more delicate....less forced smile on his lips.  

" Siento ilegar tarde...", he whispered, his onyx eyes plunged into her gray eyes.  

" German? ", she asked, her gaze troubled by something he couldn't identify.  

" Ich bin spät dran, tut mir leid...", he said automatically without taking his eyes of her.  

" French...", she whispered.  

" Je suis désolé d'être en retard...", he answered almost mechanically, his throat strangely dry.  

" English...", the detective almost begged, focusing her attention on the fork on the white tablecloth.  

Silence settled between them. An oppressive silence. Chloe tried to not look at Lucifer and Lucifer tried to capture her gaze. He was sorry. Really. He wanted her to know.  Let her understand it. That she had no doubt about it. That **_he_** had no doubt about it.  

Chloe caressed with her fingertips her knife, a few strands of hair partially hiding the fine and delicate features of her face to her partner. The latter sat up, quietly. Softly...Slowly...He approached his hand to hers. Chloe didn't move, didn't look at him...punishing him by this lack of visual contact between them. Lucifer covered her hand with his, stroking her delicate skin with his thumb.  

Their gaze met again. Or for the first time.  

" Sorry...Chloe...I'm late...", he sincerely apologized in a breath.  

Chloe smiled at these sincere words. This sincere apology. She stroked Lucifer's hand in turn, provoking in him new sensations stranger than the previous ones. He remained silent, staring at her...waiting for an answer.  

The young woman smiled more before asking innocently:  

" What about Latin? " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments. Keep going like this!  
> next chapter soon!


	4. Desire

 

Chloe shivered under the icy breeze, rubbing her shoulders frantically with her fine hands. 

The night was cooler than she thought. She repressed a new shudder as she glanced over her shoulder. Lucifer was having a conversation with the chef of the restaurant on the doorstep. The young woman barely listened to them, too exhausted to take an interest to their incomprehensible exchange in French.  

She averted her eyes and raised her head slightly to the heavens. Dark skies delicately dotted with stars more or less scintillating. Chloe smiled gently, delighted by the sight of this magnificent starry sky and by this wonderful evening. An evening with a rocky beginning...uncertain, but how so delicious later... 

The detective had spent a pleasant time, as rarely in her life. An one-on-one evening with her partner was anything but unbearable, quite the contrary. Lucifer had been gallant, funny and quite smart in his speech...much more than usual. The young woman realized she didn't know Lucifer as well as she thought. He'd known how to astonish her tonight...in the most agreeable manner. She almost pardoned me for his delay. Delay which had still had no explanations. And probably never would.  

Chloe sighed softly, tightening the grasp of her fingers around her shoulders. She let her eyes drift over the dark surroundings. It was late. Very late. She had lost the track of time. Another proof of the quality of the moment spent together. The detective didn't regret waiting him for so long. She didn't know yet whether this date would drastically change their relationship for good or evil. Or was she not really trying to find out...Not tonight. She could think about this tomorrow after all.  

A new icy freeze caressed her naked neck and ruffled her hair up into a ponytail. Chloe shuddered more and buried her nose in the collar of her dress, hoping to warm a tiny part of her freezing face. She'd never have thought it so cold in L.A.  

The young woman felt a slight friction along her shoulders and a significant decrease in the sensations of cold that assailed her for a few seconds. She raised her head. A black jacket – overpriced and extraordinarily warm – covered her shoulders, protecting her from the cold night breeze. Chloe stroke the dark fabric with her fingers before straightening her heard, plunging her gray eyes into the eyes – as dark as the night – of her partner. The latter only wore his purple shirt, the icy breeze ruffling his dark hair. He didn't seem disturbed by the low temperature from the outside. He had his hands in his pockets, relax in all circumstances...He gave a charming smile at the young woman.  

" I could see you shudder from there...", he felt obliged to explain while pointing the finger to the entrance of the closed restaurant. " As Lord of Hell, I can not tolerate that you succumbing before me tot the detrimental effects of low temperatures! " 

Chloe squeezed the sides of the jacket around her shoulders and exchanged a smile with her partner.  

" Thank you, Lucifer. " 

" You're welcome, Detective! ", he hastened to reply lightly.  

They looked at each other without saying a word, neither of them daring to speak and thus put an end to this pleasant private meeting. But it had to be stopped. It was a wonderful evening but all good things came to an end. Chloe cleared her throat, embarrassed by the stubborn silence between them. Lucifer stopped to observe the starry sky with a dreamy, as she had earlier, and turned his attention back to her.  

" It's been a wonderful evening, Lucifer...", she started, avoiding his gaze, disturbed by this one. " Thanks again...I'll go home now..."  

" What? ", he exclaimed, sincerely surprised by her words. " Oh no no no, Detective! You can't go home now! " 

Chloe smiled at his objections,  which were really adorable at this point. He didn't want her to go away. She appreciated it but it was really late. She had to go home. It was better for her to go home. That was what her reason imposed her. Go home to her daughter and her roommate as eccentric as the man standing in front of her at the dark night.  

" It's getting really late, Lucifer...I let Maze look after Trixie, I had to go...", she justified, pretending to take the jacket off her shoulders.  

Lucifer interrupted her gesture by gently grasping her hand, made cold by the breeze. With the same sweetness as in the restaurant, earlier in the evening. Chloe watched as his hand locked hers in the soft, warm embrace. Lucifer's skin was softer than she thought and much more burning than normal.  The young woman plunged her gray eyes back into Lucifer's eyes, expressing his desire to keep her with him. A desire that touched the detective...and that also frightened her.  

Lucifer hardly swallowed, his black eyes still plunged into hers. He let go her hand quickly, as if he was burnt by this simple touch at first sight. He looked around as he put his hands back into his pocket, clearing his throat.   

" Look, Detective...I'm well aware of having spoiled the beginning of our one-on-one evening. I can't let it end like this. At least...let me improve the end, to make it unforgettable! Maze can take care of your offspring a few more hours, right? ", he argued, offering her his most charming smile.  

Chloe pinched her lips, a long sigh escaping through her nostrils as she stared at her partner with his begging grin. Her reason screamed at her to go home. To shut the door to the emotions that beset her and urged her to accept the tempting offer of Lucifer. A very attractive offer. The detective felt torn between her desires and her reason. She generally tipped the balance in favor of reason. Always the reason.  

Chloe wanted to let the desire take over tonight. Just tonight. With him.  

She nodded and Lucifer smiled even more radiantly.  

" Lovely! Follow me, Detective! ", he said as he left the deserted street at this late hour.  

" But...my car...", she objected, pointing vaguely at the entrance where her car was parked.  

" You'll retrieve it later, Detective...Promised! ", Lucifer reassured her. " Unless you're too afraid to stay with me in the same car? "  

Chloe shook her head in spite of this new provocation. She put her car keys in her black bag before following her partner, their body merging softly with the surrounding darkness.  

 

************************

 

 

Chloe let her fine fingers caressed the soft and polished surface of the piano enthroned in the center of Lux. She leaned against it, observing from her position Lucifer busy behind the bar. She watched him put two glasses on the counter and filled them with a colorful alcoholic cocktail. He was focused on his task, not realizing the intense gray look on him. Chloe looked around her, enjoying more the decoration of the club without noisy customers and particularly hurried or deafening music.  

Everything was quiet. Peaceful.  

And they were alone. Again.  

Lucifer walked away from the bar and approached her, holding a glass in each hand.  he offered her one, armed with his most beautiful smile. The detective willingly accepted the drink. They drank in silence, each one spying as discreetly as possible the other.  

Chloe put her glass on the piano and looked at the unusual quiet place.  

" I'd never noticed how nice this place was...pleasant without all the noise, all the hustle and bustle. ", she observed.  

Lucifer leaned against the piano, not far from the young woman. He smiled at her words and also observed the deserted room and preserved from any night-time agitation.  

" I didn't want to be disturbed tonight...I thought...lose this place...and...I wanted to be alone for....", he whispered, caressing the crystalline surface of his glass.  

Chloe stared at her partner as the latter tried to focus his own look on his empty glass between his hands. She understood what he felt. This place was his home. He'd thought he would lose it forever.  

Lucifer raised his head and looked at the young woman right in the eye, his black eyes more intense by the emotions reflecting into them. He hardly swallowed before whispering:  

" I...I didn't properly thank you...for what you did, Detective...I..." 

Chloe interrupted him, placing her hand on his. Lucifer kept quiet and observed for a moment the fine hand of the detective covering his before looking back into her eyes. The detective offered him a gentle, reassuring smile as she tightened her grip around his hand.  

" No need to thank me, Lucifer...", she reassured him gently. " This is your home, it was important for you...What's important for you...is important for me. "  

Lucifer offered her an extremely gentle smile and they continued to lose themselves in the other's gaze for a moment that seemed to last much longer than that. Lucifer finally released his hand from her embrace and straightened up quickly. Chloe pulled her hand up to her side and tried to look away from her partner, her cheeks slightly pink by their previous closeness.  

" Come...", he proposed her, holding out his hand.  

" What for? ", she asked him, curious.  

" My dear Detective Decker...", he began in an exaggerated formal tone. " May I have this dance? " 

" Without music? ", stupidly asked the young woman, surprised by his incongruous request.  

Lucifer sketched a charming smile, partially revealing his perfect teeth. He kept his arm outstretched towards Chloe before declaring the most naturally of the world:  

" But there's music, Detective! I create music! I am music! You can't refuse a dance to music itself, right? " 

Chloe narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Still one of his senseless delusions...A tempting delirium, however. They were alone. What harm was there in dancing with him? Even without music to lead them...She alternatively observed his hand and  her partner's face before slowly approaching him and grabbing his outstretched hand. Lucifer smiled even more, accentuating his embrace around the young woman's hand. He brought her gently back to him, their bodies separated by a microscopic space. Chloe had to raise her face to his, her partner being much taller than her, despite her high heels. She felt Lucifer's left hand caressing her lower back, bringing her closer to him. The young woman shivered under this caressed and stared at her partner.  

Slowly...Gently...They moved with impalpable music. A present music....Into their bodies...their minds...in this comforting embrace. They kept looking at each other throughout this silent dance, moving together...without any false steps. Chloe was skillfully led by Lucifer and enjoyed dancing with him...alone. She wanted to make this moment last forever. He smiled softly and she returned his smile, filled with that intimate moment with him.  

" Lucifer..."  

" Hmmm? ", he replied simply as an encouragement, continuing to lead her slowly and silently.  

Chloe stared at him a few seconds – uncertain – before asking in a breath:  

" Why were you late? "  

Lucifer persisted in looking at her silently for seconds that seemed endless to her, the detective moving at the sweet rhythm of her partner's footsteps. What was he thinking? What was he going to say? Why did she want to know? Was it so important?  

Yes...it was for her.  

She needed to know. To understand.  

" Well, I...I was quite disturbed by my last session with my therapist...", he replied very vaguely.  

" Why? ", she asked him again, eager for clarifications.  

She saw Lucifer's glance being troubled for some unknown reason. He hardly swallowed, seemingly divided between the desire to confide and that of remaining evasive. Chloe gave him a comforting smile and let her hand caress his muscular back through the thin fabric of his shirt.  

" Tell me the truth, Lucifer..."  

" It's something she said...about you...Something that I don't quite understand...", he confessed, their bodies continuing to move gently together.  

His answer surprised the young woman, but the latter remained silent, enjoining him by her silence to pursue. Lucifer let out a deep sigh before pursuing in a barely audible whisper:  

" According to her, I came here looking for something...Something that I won't have to look anymore...Something I've already found...", he said, looking at her intensely.  

Chloe froze, disturbed by this confession.  They ceased their silent dance without moving away from each other. Their hands were still entwined, their bodies were still close together. Their breath gently caressed the other's skin, making them both shiver. Chloe lost herself in the dark and passionate  gaze of her partner, a pleasant heat warming the inside of her chest.  

With one single movement...in the same unexplainable momentum...they felt their faces coming closer. Their lips were only a few millimeters apart, their eyes exchanged an oppressive and disturbing emotion.  

Chloe felt her reason appear, warning her...about the consequences. But the detective drove this notion out of her mind. She wanted to answer only one thing.  

Desire. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading !   
> let a comment as usual ! Next chapter with sexual content : WARNING!


	5. As late as possible

Chloe vaguely heard the elevator doors open on Lucifer's penthouse, penthouse plunged into the most complete darkness.  

An observation quickly blurred by the delicious sensations she felt at that moment. Lucifer's burning and intoxicating lips on hers made her forget the world around her. The hour it could be. The possible consequences of her presence here, in his muscular and powerful embrace.  

One single thing dominated the senses of the young woman: an all-consuming passion... A desire... A visceral need... 

A necessity to kiss Lucifer until she died of suffocation. To touch him. To caress him. Answering to this all-consuming and unbearable need that electrified her body and mind.  

She let out a moan partially stifled by their kiss as Lucifer slowly raised his fingers along her spine, causing her ecstatic chills. She strengthened her grip around her partner's shoulders, their bodies pressed against each other in this narrow space. Chloe deepened the kiss. Lucifer groaned contentedly, his tongue intensifying the detective's desire for this man. Lucifer turned every part of her body into a delightful and oppressive furnace. He gripped her hips ferociously, causing her to exit the privatized elevator, their lips stubbornly tied in an equally furious exchange. Their breaths blended subtly, wishing to be one.  

Chloe removed her heels with a skilful movement of feet without ceasing to respond to the passionate kiss of her partner, the latter gently caressing her golden hair. He gently removed her hair band, her fair curls descending in cascade on her shoulders. The kiss also softened, Lucifer brushing Chloe's lips.  

She'd never lived that... A delectable passion and delicacy so perfectly combined. These two notions beating this moment without a hitch.  

Chloe had always imagined Lucifer smug, arrogant and mocking in this situation.  

This wasn't the case.  

Once again, she was completely wrong about him... 

He was gentle, fiery in his gestures and his advances... subtle and direct at once. They didn't speak. They didn't need it. Their gestures... Their eyes... Their kiss spoke for them. Speech... Words couldn't have communicated so clearly what they felt right now.  

Chloe stroked his stubble with both hands, their eyes also tying as they caught their breath. She smiled at him softly, gently caressing his cheekbones with the tip of her fingers, sketching his beautiful features. So perfect. Her partner's onyx look darkened more and he caressed in turn the young woman's cheek, the latter closing her eyes at ease to this tender touch.  

It was so good. Perfect. Delightful. She didn't want to stop. Neither leave him or come back to reason. No matter the consequences. She would have physically slashed and destroyed anyone who tried to separate her from that man at that particular moment.  

He belonged to her. As she belonged to him.  

Tonight. Together.  

Lucifer's warm and delightful lips again caressed hers, the kiss intensifying very quickly. She felt Lucifer heading her towards the inside of the room as he pushed her against a wall adjoining his bedroom. He let one of his hands descend along her sides and caressed the alabaster skin of her thighs. The caress was similar to a trail of lava awakening every nerve of her raw epidermis. Chloe couldn't restrain a groan of pleasure. The detective left Lucifer's lips to wildly kiss the edge of his jaw and the inside of his neck partially unveiled by his shirt collar, taking revenge on the powerful sensations that he so skillfully created in her. He moaned strongly in turn, burying his face in her neck, tickling with his tongue her earlobe. Chloe was short of breath with these electrifying sensations. She held back as best she could a panting cry under another passionate kiss on her neck, grasping more forcefully than she would have liked Lucifer's black curls.  

Lucifer moved slightly away from her, exploring her gaze. Seeking her agreement to go further. The hesitation and fear she read in his eyes greatly increased her desire for this man. A man she had imagined self-centered in all circumstances, sure of himself. This man who claimed taking whatever he wanted when he wanted... gave her the opportunity to put an end to this moment. He let her the choice, setting aside his own desires... Thinking above all of what she wanted.  

This attitude drove the young woman's doubts. If there had been so far... Something she doubted. Doubt her doubts... Quite ironic as an observation but irrelevant at this very moment. 

She wanted him. Just as he wanted her.  

Chloe reassured his concern by a new passionate kiss. She felt Lucifer's hands caress her bare thighs, her buttocks, her hips, her arms...every accessible part of her body.  

It wasn't enough. She needed more.  

Much more.  

Chloe tugged at the buttons of Lucifer's purple shirt, her lips still intensely sealed to his. Her partner's hands came to her aid, snatching tiny fasteners unceremoniously and revealing his glabrous and subtly muscular chest. Chloe let out a slight laugh at this impatient gesture. Lucifer offered her a naughty smile before deepening the kiss. The young woman replied to this kiss, caressing as passionately every patch of skin offered to her. She felt Lucifer shuddering under her caresses, an almost bestial groan escaping from his lips. He stopped caressing her body to take off his shirt and throw it on the floor.  

They continued to kiss against this wall for a while before Lucifer passed his burning hands under the young woman's thighs and carried her in his arms. Chloe teased her partner's collarbone with her tongue and surrounded his hips with her thighs. He gently bit her earlobe, causing a sigh of satisfaction in the detective as he carried her effortlessly to the immense bed.  

They felt softly on the mattress covered with silky blanket, Lucifer above her. Chloe moved away from him to get rid of her dress, the latter landing in a formless rag beside the bed. She was now offered to Lucifer's sight, only wearing a black lacy thong and a notched bra with the same fabric. Her partner stared at her, making the detective blush under him. He brought his face closer to hers - their bodies lying on top of each other without touching – and put some kisses on her cheeks...her forehead...the corner of her lips.  

" Beautiful...", he whispered, putting another kiss on her temple.  

It was a sincere word. A word that reassured and relaxed Chloe, the latter laughing once again under the sweet kisses having punctuated each syllable. Lucifer laughed in turn, immediately sealing their lips together in another burning exchange. They sat upright, Lucifer on his knees, Chloe's fine leg stretched out around him.  

She wasn't happy.  

She was almost naked, he wasn't. It wasn't fair. That had to be rectified very quickly.  

They continued to kiss passionately, Chloe's hands busy loosening the belt around her partner's pants. She felt him smile gently against her lips, understanding her intentions. He pulled off  his pants and other unwanted clothing, only his shorts remaining after this action. Chloe felt Lucifer's hands languorously caress her shoulders and gently push her back against the mattress. She let herself do it, watching her partner sliding her thong very slowly along her thighs until he completely removed it. He returned to lie on her, covering her mouth with his. She wanted to deepen the kiss but Lucifer pulled away and kissed her collarbone. He kissed every patch of her skin, tantalizing the young woman. Lucifer quickly removed her bra, thus removing Chloe's latest clothing barrier. He stroked the roundness of her breasts with his hands before kissing the nipple, biting and licking it simultaneously. Chloe buried her fist in her mouth, a growl of pleasure threatening to escape under this unbearable caresses. She grabbed the thin sheet with her other hand, her whole body stiffening in contact with this new sensations. Lucifer kissed her bellybutton, he slowly came down to the hips, before gently opening up the thin legs of the detective.  

He new languorous kiss caressed the inside of her thighs, causing her to jump slightly. Lucifer kept her legs spread and began to lick a particularly sensitive area. Chloe straightened her head slightly, a moan of pleasure hardly stifled escaping from her lips. She put her hands in his black hair, her hands clinking a little more at each caress skillfully performed by the man lying between her thighs. Chloe leaned back on the bed, her body slightly arched under each more insistent lick. She felt her heart pounding ferociously against her chest, a thin film of sweat began to form on her smooth skin.  She bet her lip, a new wave of pleasure submerging her under an umpteenth insistent kiss.  

Lucifer was truly the Devil to bring forth such emotions in her. So easily...So quickly. He was the Devil. And it was far from being a bad thing.  

The ecstatic sensations intensified increasingly under each new caress between her thighs, her breath also accelerating. An ultimate caress got the better of her, a wave of pleasure exploding in her whole body while a strong groan resounded in the room.  

Chloe closed her eyes a brief moment, exhausted and thrilled. He was good. Really good. Too much. And once again, they were in inequality. Once again, it had to be remedied. She felt Lucifer stand up, his breath gently caressing her face. Chloe took this opportunity to grab his shoulders and exchange their position, imprisoning his waist against her thighs previously mistreated.  

Lucifer seemed surprised at first, but a glittering smile quickly adorned his lips. He leaned back to the mattress, strangely docile and inert. Chloe pinched her lips, suspicious, before gently slipping the last cloth covering his muscular body.  he stood still, his smile widening by the second. Chloe offered him a seductive smile before going back to his face, lying on him without touching him.  

Her turn to play.  

She pretended to lean towards his lips, begging for an umpteenth kiss. Lucifer raised his head, seeking the contact of her lips. Chloe shifted at the last moment to his neck, briefly biting a patch of his skin. She heard his breathing accelerate, but he stood stubbornly still. Chloe went down gently biting the skin of his torso, his belly...his hips...the inside of his thighs, deliberately avoiding the sensitive area... 

Each bite was stronger and longer. She saw the body of her partner – until now perfectly still – being traversed by more and more violent tremors. The detective ceased this torture to take a look at his face. Lucifer closed his eyes, his head back and his hands grasping the sheet with strength, almost tearing it. Chloe was satisfied with the result, Lucifer also breathless after such a torment. She gently kissed the edge of his jaw, then the corner of his lips with extreme tenderness.  

Lucifer grabbed the detective's shoulders and inverted their position again, she found herself imprisoned under his naked body. A prison she didn't want to free herself. They shared a look...a look filled with emotions and desire that both choked them. Their faces came closer and their lips were sealed while Chloe gently spread her legs.  

She let one of her hands stroke her partner's cheek as her other hand gently rose up from his lower back to his middle. She stopped her gesture, her hand a few millimeters from his scars. Lucifer continued to kiss her with ardor, barely disturbed by the proximity of her hand in this delicate area. Chloe stopped thinking and tenderly caressed the rough scarifications along their entire length. Lucifer stiffened in her arms and Chloe thought she'd made a terrible mistake before hearing a languorous groan escaping from his mouth. A groan of unimaginable strength.   

He deepened their kiss and stood between her thighs, penetrating her with a powerful blow. Chloe pressed her chest against his, burying her head in his neck to stifle the cry of contentment that threatened to go out. She hugged Lucifer firmly between her arms, hoping to calm the uncontrollable beatings of her heart. He stiffened his embrace, also caressing the young woman's lower back.  

Lucifer plunged his gaze into hers, a look confused by desire and emotions that she had never seen. An unbearable vulnerability reflected into his black eyes. They kissed again as Lucifer began to move. Chloe straightened up in his arms, both sitting on the bed in a stifling and essential embrace. Each of his movement put her to torment, a soft warmth rising in her belly. A heat turning into a delectable and oppressive furnace.  

She followed Lucifer's movements, one riding and being ridden by the other in this ecstatic carnal embrace. Chloe had never felt something so powerful, so perfect...and no longer wanted to feel anything but himself. Lucifer's hands gently caressed at first, then more stronger her chest, increasing Chloe's rising desire. They were both sweating, panting under each movement undertaken together...more and more powerful movement...more and more rapid.  

Chloe let her hands grab Lucifer's hair, their lips also overlapping together. Lucifer's movements became more jerky and more powerful, his hoarse breath caressing the detective's shoulder. They both approached the point of no return.  

Together.  

Chloe felt a wave of pleasure submerge every inch...each body cell, her body pressing more closely to Lucifer's, a strong and liberating cry escaping from her lips. Lucifer quickly joined her in the languorous pangs of pleasure, penetrating her one last time with an incomparable strength unrivaled by anyone else. A raspy grunt escaped him as they both collapsed on the bed, breathless and still embraced.  

Chloe felt Lucifer burying his face in her neck, sprinkling it with sweet and chaste kisses. He shifted slightly, positioning himself behind her, Chloe's back against his burning chest. The latter smiled softly, exhausted and filled by this moment of a rare intensity. It was much more powerful than she had ever imagined. Her eyes closed gently, fatigue taking over the orgasmic moment shared earlier with Lucifer. She felt him rise the blanket over their entwined bodies, his muscular arm resting against her hips in a protective embrace.  

After giving free rein to her desires, Chloe felt reason return to dominate her exhausted mind.  

She'd face the consequences later.  

As late as possible...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You liked it? Let a comment XD


	6. A cold shower

A breath.  

A breeze... 

A breeze tickled his nose and slowly awakened his sleepy mind.  

He groaned, turning his back to that fresh and perturbing breeze. His hand, until than on his stomach, fell back on a vacuum. A simple tactile touch  with pleasantly silky fabric, but devoid of any other presence than his. The vacuum at his side.  

The vacuum... 

Lucifer slowly opened his eyes, taking time to integrate this strange data given the events of the previous night. The heavy and atrociously comfortable sleep in which he was entangled didn't help either....The void around him, near him, wasn't normal. He slightly raised his head of the pillow where it had hitherto been buried, his black hair adopting a most rebellious position on his skull.  

No one.  

Only silk sheets wrinkled by himself and...other activities extremely pleasant. For him...And for _her_.  

Where was she? 

Lucifer frowned, disturbed by this unusual awakening. A lonely awakening. After such a night, it was a crime. He could arrest her for that! A naughty smile sketched on the corner of his lips...an interesting roleplay to consider with her. Next time. For now, he wanted to know where she had been gone. Lucifer sat up in the bed, the silky blanket gently sliding to his bare waist. He held a yawn and ran a hand through his rebellious hair, exhausted.  

" Chloe? ", he called her in a sleepy voice.  

No answer.  

Just the morning breeze that caressed his skin through the open window. He looked at it: the sun was barely rising, illuminating with its soft orange rays the imposing buildings of the City of Angels. It was early. Well too early to play hide and seek... even if it was with the detective. Lucifer only wanted one thing: to plunge back into a well-deserved sleep against the delectable and irresistible body of the young woman. Something he had never wanted with anyone. And he had fooled around with many people. A lot. The details weren't necessary... This desire, simple and legitimate at first sight, disturbed him. Why did he want to stay with her?  

It wasn't normal.  

Nothing of what had happened was normal. He was happy to have concluded with Chloe of course. But what surrounded this nice conclusion didn't please him. His own behavior. This lack of control...This letting go... All those emotions that had once again directed him whatever he could thought. These new sensations: powerful... delicious and... Intolerable too.  

He didn't get this. Everything had changed after revealing to Chloe the words of Linda about her. Her gaze... Her deep gray eyes troubled by something... His own troubled gaze. Everything had happened so fast without his being able to stop it. Once again, Lucifer wouldn't have been able to say whether it was a matter of " _can_ "...and not of " _want_ ". Had he wanted all this? Of course he wanted to sleep with the detective, which he had never hidden!  

But they hadn't slept together last night. For having slept with countless people, Lucifer knew making the difference between a delicious and short-lived sleeping and... that night. It was different. _Very_ different. On a large number of points. How and why was another story... 

Lucifer pulled out the crumpled sheets that covered the bottom of his body and stood up, completely naked. He stretched, a grunt of contentment escaping him after he had cracked his joints. He hadn't slept so well since... since... ever, actually. He had to admit that it was the very first time, in five years in this city, that he slept so long and so well. Because of his _Devil_ status, it wasn't necessary for him to sleep several hours at a time like humans. One hour was enough to recharge his batteries. This famous night continued to surround itself with strange and inexplicable facts.  

Lucifer walked round the unmade bed and slowly advanced to the entrance of the bedroom. He stopped on the threshold, looking from his position every corner of the living room, in search of a trace of Chloe's presence. Trace quite nonexistent hitherto.  

" Detective? It's a bit early to play hide and seek, don't you think? ", he tried once more.  

And no answer once more.  

Lucifer sighed loudly and went down the few marble steps leading to his bedroom. He walked around the living room, the bathroom... even from the terrace.  

Nothing. No trace of the detective. None.  

But he hadn't dreamed. The Devil didn't dream. It was the story of Humanity: marshmallow dreams and nightmares.  

" Chloe? " 

She wasn't here. It was sure. Where had she gone?  

Lucifer stepped towards the bar – still completely naked – and got a drink. The current turn of events left him quite perplexed. He drank a sip of whiskey, his mind still foggy awakening more in contact with the well-known liquor. His awakened mind tortured himself more facing this unexpected absence.  

Why had she sneaked off like a thief?  

Usually, his conquests were more recalcitrant to vamoose. He had to use his charms and all his diplomatie to induce them to leave his bed for good without boring scenes. He excelled at that. And now... Chloe played it off?! She shanked him just like this?! Lucifer laughed all by himself in front of his glass and facing this ironic situation. They decidedly didn't do anything the right way. It was completely nonsense. Nonsense.  

He felt no anger about the behavior of the detective. He was just... disturbed by this new situation. And everything that accompanied it. Lucifer didn't know what to do. That was a premiere!  

What should he do? What did he want to do? Should it only do something in particular? Or just continue to collaborate with Chloe as if nothing had happened?  

Was that what he wanted? What _she_ wanted? Should he talk to her?  

Should he chase her and fall into the most classic of Hollywood romantic stereotypes? A sloppy declaration under the rain? Must still have feelings for her... How did they call it? Love? With a big L...This was bullshit!  

Lucifer felt his fingers stiffen around his glass, caught with a new of incomprehensible sensations. What did he feel? What did all this mean? The only thing he was sure of was that last night had nothing to do or anything like the other sleeping arrangements that had punctuated his years here.  

The importance of this difference and its meaning completely escaped him. A land unknown to the Devil. He was swimming in confusion. A total confusion. A confusion that wouldn't got any better, he was convinced.  

Lucifer sighed softly before emptying his glass. Everything was so complicated... and wasn't going to simplify over time. It was absolutely certain. He walked away from the bar and went into the bathroom, his mind still struggling with overwhelming and boring thoughts so early.  

Only one thing could eliminate them.  

A cold shower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and your comments!   
> Next chapter soon : "So long"


	7. So long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments! here is the new translated chapter :)  
> Enjoy and comment...again XD

" Ma'am...Ma'am! We arrived! "  

Chloe straightened up on the uncomfortable passenger seat of the taxi and ran a hand through her hair, a simple gesture being a useless attempt to reconnect with the present moment. But her mind remained stubbornly somewhere else. Far from this car.  

The detective grabbed her bag – placed on the worn bench -, opened it and took out a fifty dollar bill. She handed the money to the driver and closed her bag while opening the door.  

" Keep the change...", she whispered before getting out of the uncomfortable yellow vehicle and closing the door with a blow.  

The driver left without saying anything, probably delighted with this enormous tip. A too big tip possibly. Chloe didn't care. She didn't care about anything right now. She watched as the car moved off into the alley until completely disappeared. She began of go up the street to her apartment. Slowly. Quietly. She wasn't in a hurry to go home at once.  

A soft breeze tickled her bare ankles. A sensation that was nice... as nice as...  

Chloe nibbled her lower lip and forced the pace, new thoughts assailing her exhausted mind. She let her eyes drift over the calm landscape that surrounded her. Landscape bathed in a soft light, light procured by sun's rays. She raided her head and enjoyed the magnificent colorful blend occupying the entire sky. A beautiful tinted light...A light that brought her mind back to the city center and a night club in particular.  

 

 -------------------------

 

A quiet penthouse... A room and a comforting embrace around her. This peace... this total fullness. Chloe couldn’t remember waking up so well... so happy. Without knowing why. It wasn't important. She had gently opened her eyes to see a magnificent picture. Perfect. Much too perfect.  

Lucifer was sleeping deeply, his face – half buried in the pillow – turned towards hers. Their face so close to each other, only separated by a few inches. Chloe felt his muscular arm tighten gently, but firmly, her hip over the sheet. Her chest gently brushed his burning torso. Lucifer's light, steady breath slowly tickled the tip of her nose. The young woman had watched him. A long time.  

She had looked at him. His features relaxed, without mask. Nudes. No unnecessary frills. His messy hair swept by a morning light. Lucifer without mask. It was...wonderful. The perfection of features was accentuated by this absence of play, of exaggeration. She had before her a perfectly relaxed face, adorned with a gentle and dreamy smile. A real smile, almost...innocent. He looked...peaceful. Purged from all this darkness that she sometimes felt in him. He almost looked like...a drowsy child, smiling gently under the comforting caress of a caring parent.  

And Chloe had caressed him. Very slowly. A brief caress on his cheek. Caress which had the immediate effect of accentuating the frank smile that didn't leave Lucifer's lips. The soft morning light surrounded the back of the man's skull lying in front of her, adorning his head with a kind of subtle halo. He pretended to be a fallen angel. And he looked like an angel, bathed in this soft light.  

An angel... 

This moment was perfect.  

Almost too much.  

This doubt had seized the young woman, doubt nearly followed by an oppressive influx of uncertainties. Those uncertainties which had led her to extricate herself as silently as possible from the bed and that perfect moment to run away.  

 

\----------------------

 

Run away... 

Chloe had ran away? Really? She saw it more as a kind of... self-preservation. One way to limit collateral damage. To preserve their collaboration. At least that. She didn't want to give up on that.  

For there could only be that between them. Professional and friendly collaboration. She'd have liked more. She wanted more. Much more.  

More than he could give her.  

Chloe knew that. Lucifer wouldn't look any further. They had had _fun_ together. That's how he'd see this. Obviously. Believing in a common future was silly and cruel for the young woman. She had to face reality and not hope for more from him. It was Lucifer. A man eager for varied and multiple pleasures.  

Routine and monogamy were excluded from his prerogatives. Totally excluded. Chloe was sure of it. Lucifer had never shown her the opposite, anyway. Why should she hope for something that probably didn't even exist?  

It was for this reason that she had left hurriedly. She wanted to have time. Time to prepare, to protect herself. Being ready to listen her partner's lamentable, and yet hurtful excuses for not having a serious relationship with her. He would never do it. He didn't understand those things. Lucifer wasn't interested or charmed by real relationship and stability. It would only be a nice hot in the sack for him. One of many. And being put in the same bag that all the sluts that had shared Lucifer's bed revolted and hurt her more than anything. He would react that way. 

And Chloe didn't want to show him that this moment was much more important to her than to him.  

Lucifer remained Lucifer. She liked him. A lot. But he'd often react as the last of the assholes. He'd probably be one again. Why would he suddenly change his behavior?  

Chloe had to keep it real. She wanted to keep it real.  

Lost until then in her dark thoughts, she finally noticed that she had reached her doorway. Her footsteps had brought her to her house, in spite of herself. The young woman rummaged through her bag and pulled out her keys. She opened the door and entered, closing immediately the door behind her. The detective tried to make as little noise as possible. Signaling her presence and returning home as late would lead to an endless stream of questions. Which she didn't wish to answer. She hadn't spoken of that date to anyone. Things had to stay that way.  

" Look who fell from her bed! Or...from another's bed! ", said a feline voice from the kitchen.  

Chloe closed her eyes and pinched her lips with frustration, deliberately facing the front door.  

 _"Great..."_  

 

\-------------------------

 

The detective turned softly towards the voice heard earlier, discovering a Mazekeen too smiling for her own good and sipping quietly a cold bier. Nothing like starting the day with a beer in hand, isn't it? Chloe sometimes wondered if all the people near Lucifer were irremediably purged of any common sense and responsibility. Did she realize that a child was sleeping in the next room? What a great example for an eight-years-old child... 

Her roommate was nonchalantly slashed against the furniture, sipping and scrutinizing Chloe with her cat eyes.  

" Who's the lucky one? The perfect man who has capsized your heart...and your body? ", she snapped, clasping her hands on her chest and waving her eyes ridiculously.  

" There is _no_ perfect man, Maze...", muttered Chloe between her teeth, annoyed. " I was on a undercover operation the whole night..."  

Maze placed her beer on the counter and slowly walked around it, stroking the wooden surface with her fingertips. Her eyes narrowed under a full and intense analysis of Chloe. The latter leaned against the door, observing with suspicious air the maneuver of her roommate. Maze pinched her lips before smiling.  

" Come on, Chloe...We've lived together long enough for you to know my...great mastery of carnal pleasures! I can recognize the signs of a good plan! And this one is more than good...", she analyzed, approaching the young woman.  

Chloe saw her scrutinize and detail each parcel, each inch of her face. An analysis under sharp eyes that began to make her feel uncomfortable. Maze nodded and looked satisfied, retreating a few steps, her hands on her thin hips.  

" Really good...The stars in the eyes, red and chapped lips for obvious reasons, hair down and quite messy, pink cheeks...We're dealing with a master here! ", she concluded. " I wonder..." 

She didn't finish her sentence, her eyes narrowed once more under an intense thinking. Thinking which greatly worried Chloe. What kind of connection could she made in her mind? She'd felt that she had been examined by a veiled profiler...If she made the connection with... 

" **_No!_** ", her roommate exclaimed, a wide smile of astonishment appearing on her face. " Don't tell me th...! And you can still walk?! I'm impressed! " 

Chloe refrained from punching Maze with this mocking remark. She had to remain calm and avoid that all this affair get out. She had to deny the precise deductions of her roommate. How could she have guessed? All things considered, she didn't want to know... 

" Mommy...", muttered a thin voice on the other side of the room.  

The two women turned in the same movement towards the little girl still half-asleep in the middle of the living room. She gently rubbed one of her closed eyes and seemed about to fall asleep again. Chloe smiled tenderly at the adorable spectacle offered by her daughter. She walked away from the front door and knelt at Trixie's, taking her little hands between hers.  

" Hi, sweetie...sleep well? " , she asked her gently.  

" Mmmhhhhhhmmm....", only answered the girl, still half-asleep.  

Chloe looked at the wall clock: twenty past seven am. They were late. Very late. Chloe had to shower, change, get her car...She sighed and turned towards Maze.  

" Can you take her to school, please? I still have to...", she ventured to ask her.  

" No problem. You need time to...recover...", Maze said very naturally.  

Chloe glared at her and turned to her daughter.  

" Maze will take you to school this morning, _Monkey._ Let's get dressed, you'll eat on the road...", she proposed.  

Trixie woke up quickly, delighted to go to school with her best friend. She literally skipped on the spot before running to her room, shouting all her joy. Chloe stood up and walked to the bathroom as her roommate donned her leather jacket. A hot shower... she really needed this to face the day.  

She opened the door and rushed into the bathroom. Before closing the door, she heard Maze say cheerfully:  

" Say hello to Lucifer for me! " 

Chloe restrained a sigh and nibbled her lower lip under the intense urge of murder that assailed her. She closed the door with a blow and began to remover her clothes from the other night.  

The day was going to be long.  

...So long. 


	8. The Devil's never afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the many kudos, comments etc!   
> I appreciate really. I hope you'll appreciate this new translated chapter. :)   
> Happy reading!

Lucifer quietly descended the stairs of the Lux as he put on his black jacket.  

He concentrated to tie his cufflinks as he walked briskly towards the counter at the back of the room. Small rays filtered through the tall windows of his club, bathing the inside of it with a pleasant light.  

The quiet atmosphere and the gentle lightness were soothing.  It was so quiet... Lucifer appreciated that greatly but had still hard time to integrate the fact that he was living alone here from now on. No longer see Maze do the books behind the bar, loyal every morning, was strange.  

_Alone._  

The solitude was strange. Pleasant and awkward too. He had peace, at least. But this morning, Lucifer would have needed some social distraction. Thing that he had no more. Except at the worst times. Always at the worst times. His family always had a bad timing... Regrettable given their status and the ancient celestial powers of his gloomy brother.  

He realized how much his life had changed in just one year of earthly existence... Since his meeting with... 

Lucifer finally tied his cufflinks and sighed heavily. The cold shower – generally drastic – had no effect, nor was the ritual of dress. Nothing seemed to work. Nothing that could give him a brief... cerebral and emotional respite.  

_"Get out of my mind, Detective! "_  

It didn't work either.  

Of course. 

It was witchcraft. Bloody witchcraft! How could he get the detective out of his mind? How? Was this the right thing to do? Lucifer didn't know. Not a clue. It was the first time that he had ever been through this kind of thing. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to live this again. A delightful night for an endless cerebral torture? Was it _really_ worth it? For humans , perhaps.  

For him...For her... 

Was there only one solution that would work for everyone? Or only bad ones?  

What should he do now?  

Lucifer had never felt so... _lost_. So much confused by a situation. He never stopped dithering about futile and cumbersome things. Could a human brain handle so many questions at once? Or was he escaping a fatal overheating only because of his immortal status?  

No idea, once again.  

Lucifer was hovering – figuratively – and it was very uncomfortable. Extremely unpleasant. He felt like living every woman's life after taking advantage of his unique charms. When he brought them gallantly to the exit and refused to see them again. Putting himself in human's place was quite degrading. He didn't despise humans, unlike his mother, but putting himself on the level of the most... insignificant of them was clearly humiliating. He was the Devil. This feeling intensified by the questions that tapped him.  

What to do with Chloe? Call her? Talk about it directly? Act as if nothing had happened? Should he wait for her call? A sign from her?  

A real torture.  

Torture that would have been very successful in Hell. A great damnation potential here... Torture that gave rise to an irrepressible desire to pull out his hair. Desire that would remained unsatisfied, of course. He cared about his hair! And about his sanity... 

Lucifer couldn't tell if he regretted the events of last night or not. He didn't know what to think.  

Maybe he knew... Maybe not... 

Again, a dead end.  

A dead end that he couldn't solve alone here. He had to dissect this knot of extraordinary solidity. With whom? Chloe? Linda?  

Why not... After all, it was the Dr. Martin who had provoked this complex situation. Not him. Well... yeah, him too. But... 

How did human beings survive sentimental setbacks?!  

Lucifer froze on the spot, amazed at the enunciation of this last thought. _Sentimental_ setbacks? Was that so? Really?  

No! Nonononono! Impossible! Not him. The Devil had no sentimental setbacks... and would never have. He was just... intrigued and annoyed by the situation and the loss of control that it engendered on its way, that's all! Simple as that! It was just a matter of control... A matter of control... 

Plain as da... 

His phone brought him back to earth, vibrating strongly against his chest. Lucifer pulled it out of his inner pocket and quickly read Amenadiel's text:  

**_" We need to talk. Fast. "_**  

Lucifer couldn't help but roll his eyes, annoyed by this constantly moralistic and melodramatic tone of this feathered asshole. Rather unfeathered, actually... Falling from his pedestal didn't work out.  

_" Welcome to the club,_ _brother... Welcome_ _to the_ _club_ _! "_  

When he said he was always disturbed at the worst time...  

The less he saw his mother and brother Am, the better he was! He hadn't yet forgotten the last manipulations of this woman... Steal the Blade... Leave it among humans... 

She was totally insane... and very dangerous. For her relatives. Stuck with an unmanageable mother, a depressive brother, a sentiment... _No_ _!_ The list of his worries stopped there!  

Lucifer looked again at the text on the screen. What did he want to discuss so urgently? Their hypothetically grotesque return to the Silver City? Grotesque... that was the word. It was all the more grotesque when they included the absurd idea of taking him there too. The worst was their sincere conviction that Lucifer would be truly welcome there. That made perfect sense for them. Far less for him.  

The Devil kept his feet on Earth... under Earth actually, for millenia. Heaven... it wasn't home. It had never been! Hell had been nothing but an underground prison... A prison with some pleasant distractions but... a prison all the same.  

Here... Now... He was at home. And he'd stay at home... 

Lucifer quickly tapped a reply to Amenadiel's imperious request, a slight smile of satisfaction sketching on his lips:  

**_" Hello,_**  

**_The Devils is unavailable for now, especially for fallen angels and psychopathic mothers with illusory dreams... Rectification: Lucifer Morningstar is unavailable for an indefinite period._**  

**_Please contact him in a few_** ** _millennia_** ** _..."_**  

He pressed the sending button and placed the phone on the counter, bypassing it in search of a bottle of whiskey. He needed a drink. Several... bottles, even. There might be a chance to anesthetize his brain for a few minutes... a few seconds: it would be already wonderful. It was in those moments that he particularly regretted his immortal condition: the lack of effectiveness of any terrestrial substance on his organism... Even at Uriel's death, he... 

Lucifer closed his eyes for a moment, a ball suddenly obstructing the inside of his throat at the thought of his youngest brother. He shouldn't think of this... He grabbed a bottle and a glass and poured a generous dose of alcohol to apprehend that day. He brought the glass up to his mouth, eager to taste the delicious nectar. A noisy new vibrating prevented him from satisfying his thirst, a vibration which provoked a growing anger. He lowered his glass and placed it on the bar while glaring at the cell phone placed a little further away.  

He was going to kill them... family crimes... that happened every day, right? One more, one less... he should suggest to Mazikeen to come with him, she had a score to settle with his mother.  

Lucifer let out another sigh at the umpteenth vibration and gripped the phone a little too violently, scrolling in his mind the many gory tortures adaptable to those two punks. He widened his eyes briefly by reading the name on the screen: _Detective_. Lucifer stared at the screen for a moment without consulting the text. Without knowing what to do.  

What did she want? Why was his heart so drumming in his chest at the mere sight of this text? What was this heat that gently flooded the inside of his body without burning him?  

He felt feverish, it was bloody ridiculous! Illogical!  

Lucifer swallowed and quickly opened the text, partially hoping to discover a message of apology or an explanation for this morning. Something. He didn't know what exactly. Above all, he needed to... understand. Answers... Something concrete. Unfolding this rather... uncertain situation.  

**_" New homicide._**  

**_Whorehouse – Hot Horny Girly – National 30_**  

**_Go there in thirty. "_**  

Well... Game over for the concrete, then.  

Lucifer frowned with incomprehension. Why was she doing this? Even before that night, cold and impersonal text messages were quite rare coming from her. Right now, Lucifer almost brushed against hypothermia.  

_"Wonderful..."_  

A new stream of questions assaulted his mind. Too many questions for this period of the day. Chloe seemed to deny last night... Why? Was she right in doing so? Or did she prefer to speak about this with him later, alone?  

Lucifer would probably have a real answer by going to meet her. By her behavior, by his own attitude towards her... 

And the world still wondered why the Devil preferred one night's pleasures with total strangers! This situation was anything but simple... Creating the stars seemed much easier! At least, you shouldn’t have to talk to them afterwards...  

Lucifer didn't answer it. He put his phone in his pocket while emptying the content of his glass. He'd needed the entire bottle but he wasn't certain that arriving at the crime scene – alcohol in hand – would be the best approach... No, very bad idea.  

Perhaps a lethal dose of whiskey could possibly lessen these rambling sensations. Lucifer felt excited at the thought of seeing Chloe again and... What was that? He had felt exactly the same thing when Linda had insinuated... that he seemed to attach great importance to what the detective could think of him.  

Was that... ** _anxiety_**?  

Lucifer shook his head and let out a disdainful exclamation. He walked around the counter and advanced resolutely towards the exit.  

He wasn't anxious. No way.  

The Devil's never afraid. 


	9. Permanent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to talk !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again and always for your comments, bookmarks and kudos! Happy reading!

_" There he is... there he is... there he is..."_  

Chloe saw Lucifer's car in the distance...heard the subtle purring of the engine before even spotting Lucifer himself.  

An enormous tension attacked every muscular tissue that formed her body as she distinctly heard the door of his car slam. Her breathing accelerated significantly and parallel to the apprehension that was gaining her.  

Ella continued to analyze with great care the body stretched at her feet, informing her of her discoveries and the possible deductions that might ensue. Chloe could hear her talking, seeing her move around the body... but nothing came to her brain imprisoned by a feeling of anxiety far more powerful than she had been experienced until then. All her attention was – in spite of herself – focused on the man who was getting closer and closer. Chloe stole a glance at Lucifer: he was quietly chatting with the officers in charge with scattering the civilians around the crime scene. A handshake here, a friendly smile there and Lucifer was allowed to pass the yellow safety wire, approaching a little more towards the young woman.  

Also bringing in his wake a tide of uncertainties and fears.  

_" Calm down, Chloe! It's just Lucifer! "_  

Just Lucifer... 

If only it was that simple. Chloe knelt near the body, pretending to inspect further a clue about the causes of death. This wasn't the case. She was just trying to hide her anxiety... to find a way out to...Lucifer.  

To this famous night with him.  

The detective rubbed her fingers together, the texture of the latex that covered them made this mechanical gesture more unpleasant than usual. Everything seemed unpleasant today. Her thoughts, her fleeting memories of their embrace... of his burning touch... of...  

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment and let out a brief sigh, trying to expel by this simple breath all the images and sensations that persistently linger in her mind. No chance it'll work, od course. She would have liked it though. If only that night had never existed. Things so simple, so normal usually wouldn’t be so... complicated in this warm morning.  

She wasn't ready to face the consequences.  

To face him. To face the harsh reality. Reality that screamed to her more and more distinctly that all this was only a wonderful dream. A wonderful utopia, which would never take shape. This reality cruelly crushed her slim hopes of seeing this night becoming something... something more important.  

Chloe regretted having called him. She regretted bitterly. Why had she called him? Simply because she didn't want to have to answer other questions. About his strange absence at her side on this crime scene, he who was systematically here. Always ready to punish bad guys. They were a duo. For better and for worse.  

And Chloe had the clear impression that the worst had just come.  

Lucifer finally reached by her side, - his hands in his pockets – his usual playful smile proudly aroused. Chloe focused on the young woman's body lying at her feet, really seeking – this time – an interesting clue for the aftermath of the investigation. She deliberately avoided her partner's gaze and any bodily contact with him. The latter didn't come nearer, staying at a certain distance from the detective.  

" Hello, Hello Ella! ", he greeted the coroner, still kneeling near the head of the victim. " You're a real morning lady, aren't you? "  

" Hey, buddy! ", she greeted him in return while placing carefully some hair in a waterproof pouch.  

" And good morning to you too, Detective...", he greeted her in a much more gentle tone.  

Chloe didn't look at him. She felt her muscles stiffened more at the sound of his voice. At its particular intonation when he finally spoke to her. An intonation that briefly brought her mind back to last night. The detective instinctively clenched her fist and persisted in focusing her attention on the body.  

" You're late, Lucifer...", she grumbled. " Another Brittany to comfort? " 

The words were said before she could really realized their meaning. She immediately regretted her aggressive tone towards him. Chloe didn't know what was happening to her. All this internal tension, her uncertainties... all this sowed confusion in her mind and led her to react like this. She felt Lucifer stiffen beside her but didn't look directly at him. He moved slightly away and Chloe felt his eyes burning the back of her neck.  

" You're getting warmer, Detective...", he replied in a cold, distant voice that she didn't know him – a voice that made her literally shiver with anxiety. " A Brittany who sneaked out just after the fun..." 

Chloe could easily discern the message hidden behind this bravado. A hidden and painful message for the young woman. An implied accusation. A blame about he behavior. Blame which greatly offended her. She knew she had been wrong for her derogatory remark, but he couldn't decently be mad at her for protecting herself! For knowing him enough to act accordingly!  

Ella uttered an outraged exclamation when she heard him. She shook her head in disgust and Chloe couldn't help but feeling that she was being judged... indirectly.  

" Han, Dude! It sucks! Even coming from a woman! We tend to judge men a little too quickly in this situation, but I really don't see why women deserve more tolerance...", blathered the coroner by placing the sample pouches in her black suitcase.  

" You think so, do you? I must say that...", add her partner always standing by her side.  

" **_GUYS!_** " , Chloe shouted as she straightened up quickly, again surprised by her anger. " There's a body right here...Focus, please? " 

They both turned towards her and Chloe had no choice but catch Lucifer's gaze. She plunged her gray irises into the darker ones of her partner. A brief glance quickly broke. A glance communicating nevertheless emotions that she didn't want to perceive. A look that also traced a new flood of inappropriate memories at that moment. Lucifer and Chloe had simultaneously turned their faces in another direction, striving to focus their attention anything else then the person near them.  

Ella apologized promptly for this unfortunate digression:  

" Yeah! Right...Sorry! So...Her name was...", she began as she quickly reread her scribbled notes on her notebook. " ...Christiane Collebroek. Multiple perforating wounds in the genitals...and another in the heart. It's this which has led to the death by quick exsanguination... The other wounds were made post-mortem, obviously, given the lack of blood around the intrusion points. " 

Chloe nodded vaguely at her detailed forensic explanations, pensive. The numerous strokes in the belly suggested a crime of passion... violent and could indicate that the victim and the murderer knew each other. Lucifer let out a sort of disapproving whistle.  

" Ouch... I guess she's literally _heartbroken_ , isn't she? That must hurt a little bit, don't you think? " , he exclaimed, smiling and examining with a fresh eye the body in front of him.  

Chloe really wanted to be kind of him or – at best – be respectful. Lucifer didn't help her at all. As always. The young woman rolled her eyes to his inappropriate comment, once again, an exasperated whistle passing through her lips.  

" It is _possible_ , Lucifer...It even killed her! Incredible but true! ", she got mad, glaring at Lucifer.  

The latter turned to her again, the two partners sharing another look. And quickly ending this visual contact again. She couldn't look at him. Nor to speak to him normally. They always exchanged these kind of comments but the tone was distinctly different at that very moment. Harder. Colder. From her. Chloe felt miserable... terrible to reject him thus. Whatever his behavior. She just didn't know what to do. The words came inexorably out of her mouth, whether she mean them or not. She also felt this unpleasant awkwardness between them, but she didn't do anything against it. The coroner contented herself with scribbling other notes with a somewhat too forced application, discreetly staring at them from time to time.  

" Point taken, Detective...", Lucifer murmured.  

Chloe ventured to look at him briefly, a palpable guilt hugging her chest. Lucifer had his face turned towards the body, a thin smile on his lips. A smile she didn't know. There was no joy in it... no _provocation_ specific to the character. Just some...sadness. Sadness that intensified the feeling of guilt that had assaulted the young woman for a few seconds. Her partner's face looked strangely tense. It lasted only a moment. A fleeting vision of vulnerability that quickly faded under his usual mask of confidence.  

He turned to her again, without looking directly into her eyes, while pointing a hand toward the mutilated body.  

" You know how much pain is new for me! It intrigues me... The sensations that physical pain entails... Bleed... I was never **_hurt_** before meeting you, Detective! It's quite normal as Lord of Hell that I'm interested in this kind of things! There's often and unfortunately a lack of imagination about torture after a few millennia...", he explained without any embarrassment.  

Ella stopped scribbling in her notebook to glance at Lucifer.  

" Dude... You don't have to play your character all the time, you know? ", she suggested, giving her suitcase to a trainee.  

Lucifer let out an exasperated exclamation at her suggestion and put his hands in his pockets while turning to the coroner bustling to store her material.  

" Okay, for the last time...I am **_not_** an actor, darling! ", he tried to explained to her.  

Chloe watched as Ella and Lucifer argue about the more or less viable possibility that he might be the real Devil and not an actor strongly involved in his game. The forced intonation on the word "hurt" that he had used painfully echoed in her skull. Once more he sent her another message. A message that she didn't like it at all. A message that insinuated that she was the only one responsible for this deplorable situation. For this awkwardness between them. Chloe didn't accept this. She had good reasons to do so. More than him!  

She had to put an end to this.  

Once and for all.  

 

 **********************

 

 

Chloe rumbled through the stack of files in front of her and quickly read the information on the first page. She tried not to turn to Lucifer, who sat nonchalantly against the window of the Ella's laboratory. She felt his gaze on her, burning her a little more every second. Every moment a little more anchored in an unbearable silence for the young woman.  

She sighed, annoyed by her lack of concentration and professionalism. She had a murder to solve, with our without Lucifer's help. She could do this. The detective straightened up on her seat while resting the open file in her hands on the light table, looking for the coroner. The latter analyzed in her part a sample found on the crime scene.  

" Ella? ", she asked. " You have news about the victim's toxicology? "  

Ella turned to her, vaguely shrugging her shoulders as she pulled out her protective gloves.  

" Not yet, but I can check...", she suggested before throwing her gloves in a trash and getting out of the lab.  

Leaving Chloe completely alone.  

With Lucifer.  

_" Bad plan. Terrible plan. "_  

The detective hardly swallowed, embarrassed. To say the least. Lucifer's gaze on her neck seemed to gain strength, increasing her discomfort. She felt her body stiffen with apprehension. She took a deep breath to calm down – an action that obviously had no effect on her nerves – and opened another file on the table.  

The silence lasted for a few more seconds, which seemed to las hours before Lucifer's deep voice sounded behind her:  

" **_Bloody Hell!_** Enough of this! " 

She heard him rise and approach her. Chloe had just time to close the file which had hitherto monopolized her to see a Lucifer particularly annoyed in front of her, his hands resting on the table.  

" We have to stop this, Detective... We need to talk about what happened last night! " 

Chloe was quite caught off guard by his direct reaction. She'd have believed they would continue to simulate a good understanding between them. Apparently not. Lucifer's eyes almost begged her, his jaw strongly contracted by the tension. A palpable tension in the air. Tension also palpable in her own body. Everything was only tension at this very moment. A tension accumulated since this morning, by both.  

" Lucifer...", Chloe murmured, searching for words.   

What could she say? How could she say this?  

" Why did you leave without saying anything? ", he asked her point-blank. " Did I do something wrong or...? " 

Chloe looked into Lucifer's. He looked so... frustrated... lost by the events. He almost implored her. Chloe wanted to reassure him. Tell him that everything was perfectly fine between them. That it would get better and better. What she wanted. Really. But that would never happened. They were too... different.  

The detective stopped looking at him and stood up, mechanically arranging the files scattered in front of her, confused. Lucifer watched her without saying anything for a moment before letting out a disdainful exclamation. He walked away from the light table, a bad laugh taking him suddenly.  

" You lost your tongue, Detective?... Well, what a shame! It seemed to work perfectly last night! ", he provoked her in a tingle tone.  

Chloe's blood boiled in her veins. She turned quickly towards him and slapped him with all her strength. Lucifer's face leaned to the side, a red mark quickly dyeing his bruised cheek. Chloe gasped in surprise. Surprised by her own gesture. Surprised by the pain that gripped her heart. Lucifer was also surprised. He kept his head bent over, stunned and mechanically holding his hand to his cheek. The surprise that seized Chloe was soon replaced by an intense and dazzling anger. An anger that quickly took possession to her mouth, to her thoughts. Whether she likes it or no.  

" You want to know why I left, Lucifer? ", she said with a horribly calm voice. " I wanted to give you some time to find a good excuse to not go further with me! Let's be practical! You're just a self-centered asshole... who's doing good in bed! Nothing more..."  

A heavy silence settled between them.  

Silence that allowed Chloe time to assimilate her own words said in anger. She'd have like to die right then for daring to tell him that. He didn't deserve this... The latter let his hand fall back against his side and looked into Chloe's eyes. All she saw there was a deep resignation, a resignation which frightened her.  

God...What had she done?  

The young woman stepped towards her partner but quickly stepped back, frightened by the wild gleam that now reflected in his irises. She hardly swallowed, an opaque knot clogging her throat.  

" Lucifer...I...I'm so sor....", she stammered in a whimpering voice.  

Lucifer raised a hand with a sharp movement, asking for silence. What she did, deeply hurt by the dramatic turn of the situation. She had never seen him so... dark. He had never looked at her like this. With this deep disappointment that was reflected in his entire body. Not even when he thought he had lost her trust the night Walter was found dead behind his counter. An observation that underscored the gravity of the current situation.  

Chloe had gone too far. Well beyond the limits.  

He lowered his arm and breathed with a lifeless voice:  

" Spare me the lies, Detective... I hate liars...You shared your mind...."  

They looked at each other for an eternity. Before Chloe could say anything else, - anything to fix this – Ella appeared near the threshold of the lab, her eyes focused on the file she had in her hands.  

" So! Apparently...She would have ingested a strong psychotic a few hours before her death. It could be GHB but the lab needs more time to..." 

The coroner's voice died as she finally looked up from her file and saw the two partners a little further down the room.  

" Whoops! Sorry, guys! Maybe I should...hum...", the young woman apologized.  

Lucifer finally stopped looking at Chloe and turned his face towards the coroner, a false smile on his lips. He advanced towards the exit without another look for the detective while reassuring Ella:  

" It's all right... We've done here..."  

 Chloe couldn't move. She would have liked to run after him and beg his forgiveness. But nothing came. Not a gesture. Not a word. Only silence. And a huge void in her chest at the sight of Lucifer moving further away towards the exit of the precinct.  

Moving further away from her.  

A distance which seemed frightfully... 

**_...Permanent._ **


	10. The sorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!   
> "L'Étoile du Matin" is done TT   
> The next part "Des Ténèbres naquit la Lumière" will come after the end of this story.   
> It's time to continue "Le Diable n'a jamais peur"!  
>  Happy? I am!   
> Well this chapter isn't really joyful...   
> But I hope you'll like it anyway!   
> Enjoy and let a comment :D

Linda put the file that had occupied her for several minutes in the drawer of her desk. This day finally came to an end. She finally could have a break. The young woman settled herself a little more comfortably on her seat, thus relieving the dull twinge between her shoulders. Linda removed her glasses and placed them on the desk, rubbing gently with her other hand the edge of her nose irritated by her frame. 

She was exhausted. Listening to people for hours and their problems was much more time-consuming than we might think. Definitely more tiring. And Linda was actually exhausted tonight. Going home and enjoying the rest of her evening was pretty tempting. 

If she managed to finish her paperwork. 

Linda gently opened her eyes and put her glasses back on her nose. She reached her hand toward her desk lamp and turned it off, plunging the back of the room into darkness. Only occasional cars briefly enlightened her office with their headlights. The young woman stood up and walked slowly to the sofa near the door. 

It was time to go home. Go home and savor this bottle of wine offered by Lucifer for her birthday. It certainly was a great vintage, knowing him. She couldn't wait to taste it...with a warm bath to relax her sore muscles. 

A wonderful program. 

Linda leaned toward the lamp near the sofa, but straightened up quickly as she heard a broken glass noise from the outside. She turned to the door, intrigued. She should have been the last person into the building at this time. She had no other appointment either. The therapist slowly approached the office door, worried. 

Who could it be? And what did this person want? 

It couldn't be a wandering cat! This kind of ridiculous storyline only worked in horror movies. It wasn't a movie, but reality. Linda took a deep breath, grasping the handle with one hand, trying to calm down. Slowly, she turned the handle and slightly opened the door. The corridor was almost totally plunged into darkness, preventing her to distinguish anything. 

The young woman continued to stare anxiously at the darkness without leaving her office. Another sound rang a little farther down the corridor, opposite to her office. Noise quickly followed by a curse mumbled by a voice with a very characteristic accent. 

British accent. 

Linda opened the door wide before turning the lightning in the corridor on, staring incredulously at the spectacle offered to her a little further. 

She watched Lucifer forcefully turn the handle of the door leading to the broom closet, cursing frequently against its lack of cooperation. She couldn't distinguish his face from here, Lucifer facing the stubborn door. However, Linda was able to notice the wretchedness in which her patient was. 

His black hair – usually perfectly coiffed – was here only a mass of rebellious locks trying to reproduce the coat of a porcupine to perfection. He was wearing his usual white shirt with a black vest over it. His shirt miserably out of his pants, partially unbuttoned. The collar was crumpled and shapeless around his neck. He mumbled once more before knocking the door with his fist, his other hand forcefully holding an half-emptied bottle.   

Linda opened her mouth before closing it quickly, puzzled as the spectacle offered by Lucifer. She noticed near the window some broken glass on the floor : single remains of the vase previously there. An indirect victim of Lucifer's terrible state. 

A state that created a lot of interrogation in the therapist's mind. What could have happened to put him in such deplorable state? An important question among many others. Linda stepped into the corridor without moving away from the entrance of her own office. 

" Lucifer?! What are y-…?", she exclaimed, finally drawing his attention to her. 

The latter stopped to pound on the door of the broom closet, finally turning his face towards the therapist. And finally allowing her to totally grasp the gravity of his condition. Deep dark circles streaked the bottom of his eyes, which were much darker than usual. He was frightfully pale, his stubble accentuated the wrinkles of fatigue on his face. He focused his blurry look on the young woman, a silly smile quickly appearing on his lips: 

" Doctor! I was looking for you! Did you move your office? ", he asked her, pointing vaguely at the door he was trying to smash open a little earlier. 

Linda narrowed her eyes - confused – before pointing her hand to her office: 

" No...My office is right here, Lucifer. That's the broom closet...", she informed him, still continuing to observe with a critical eye his slightest gestures. 

Lucifer looked alternately the closet door and the opened door leading to her office, each time frowning more his eyebrows before bursting out laughing. He leaned heavily against the door, drinking a long sip of alcohol from the bottle. He straightened up and walked awkwardly to her office, passing before her without saying a word to half collapse on the sofa. An act which made him laugh uncontrollably. 

Linda stared at him for a moment, puzzled, before closing the door of her office. Lucifer straightened up as best as he could, falling once more lamentably against the cushions before standing upright, a new silly smile on his lips. 

" Lucifer...Are you alright? " , asked the therapist, more and more worried. 

She'd never seen him like this. Not even after Uriel's death. He was far beyond. This was very troubling. 

Lucifer nodded absently and stammered in an uncertain voice: 

" I feel perfectlyyyyyyyyyy fine, Dr. ! I am on cloud nine! "

He laughed again, leaning  his body forward for a few seconds before drinking another sip of alcohol. He tried to explain – awkwardly – something to Linda: 

"  _Cloud_...Did you get it? That's a...a...reference...t-...to...! ", he laughed, pointing a finger at the ceiling. 

The therapist opened her mouth again before closing it, dismayed. Before being able to say anything to him, Lucifer walked with a hesitant step towards the piece of furniture in which the basket and its famous decorative balls of fine wood were placed. He put the practically empty bottle next to it and took two balls in each hand, looking at them with great interest. He turned to Linda, pointing them out: 

" I'm sure this is for juggling! Do you love circus? "

" Lucifer...", she whispered, gently approaching him. 

The latter began to throw balls into the air, trying to catch them in mid-air. A complete failure. The decorative balls fell on the floor in a muffled noise before rolling a little further into the room. Lucifer let out a groan of frustration and took back the bottle behind him. 

" Lucifer...", Linda tried again, the latter finally focusing his blurry gaze on her. " Are you... _drunk?_  "

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, seeming seriously to think about this possibility. He finally shrugged, uncertain. Lucifer reeled dangerously on his feet before leaning against the window. 

" I think so...'Hard to say, really...This bloody supernatural metabolism keeps going to give me a hard time. But I guess that a massive dose of alcohol and illicit substances can get rid of it after all...", he said, examining the contents of the bottle with an uncertain look. 

" How many glasses did you drink? ", asked his therapist once more, coming closer to him. 

She watched carefully his pupils: they were indeed dilated, the white of his eyes strewn with fine red veins. He actually smacked of alcohol. And even more than that. What had happened to disrupt him so much? Linda's last question made Lucifer laugh again, the latter bursting out laughing as she opened her very troubled patient's eyelids with her fingertips. 

" Glasses? Are you listening to me, Dr. ? About supernatural metabolism? I need more than a glass to have some fun...Ask me how many bottles, instead! " , he replied as he gently moved her aside. 

Linda watched him go to the sofa and sit down there roughly. She stood by the window, quiet. She still didn't know why he was here and under the influence of alcohol. 

" How many bottles, Lucifer? ", she asked, worried about his answer. 

How many bottles did it take to deaden a body with unusual abilities? To deaden the Devil's metabolism? Probably much more then she actually could imagine. That anyone could imagine. Lucifer cogitated a long time again, pinching his lips strongly under concentration. 

" I really don't know...I think I drank the entire Lux's storehouse, so...One hundred? One hundred and fifty bottles, maybe? ", he suggested after a while. 

Linda didn't reply, too stunned and too worried to say anything. She looked at him for a moment without saying anything, trying to give a valid reason for his behavior. It was Lucifer. And Lucifer was quite stubborn to avoid direct contact with his emotions. In its entirety. He avoided dealing with negative emotions in general. This oversized drinking hid something. Something that made him suffer. That he wished at all costs to bury deep down somewhere. 

But it wouldn't work. 

Problems didn't vanish so easily. On the contrary. 

The therapist sat down beside him without a word. Lucifer leaned his elbows on his knees, the bottle against his leg. He deliberately avoided her gaze, hoping to prevent her from asking questions with unpleasant answers. Linda put a hand on his shoulder, claiming to be comforting.  He closed his eyes, a long sigh escaped from his lips, releasing his body from the unbearable tension stuck into it. 

" Lucifer...What happened? ", she asked softly, holding her hand on his shoulder. 

He stared at a point before him, quiet and drank another sip of alcohol under her insistent look. He deeply sad smile was born on his face. 

" Oh, just the usual drama...Nothing more. ", he whispered, running his hand though his hair. 

" Someone's dead?! ", Linda yelled, remembering the latest drama. 

Lucifer let out a mocking exclamation with a bitter aftertaste. He gently rubbed his thumb against the bottle, pensive. 

" If only, Doctor. I'd have preferred...I-...I'd have preferred to be de-…", he mumbled before stopping talking, a worrying gleam in his eyes. 

He straightened up quickly and walked back to the window, searching frantically something in his pockets. He finally pulled out his phone and began dialing a number as the therapist continued to stared at him, puzzled. 

" Who are you calling, Lucifer? "

" Mazikeen. She must have it... ", he mumbled, bringing the device to his ear, still dangerously reeling on his feet. 

" Have... _what?_  ", Linda asked, intrigued. 

" The Blade! ", he yelled, on edges. 

Linda stared at him, muddled. What blade was he talking about? She didn't...

She widened her eyes with terror before straightening up as quickly as possible. The therapist snatched the phone from Lucifer's hand, the latter cursing under this physical raid. Raid which disrupted his precarious balance. Lucifer reeled a little more before falling to the floor on his butt, another curse escaping him. He dropped the bottle, which rolled to the door, the rest of the alcohol flowing and soaking the carpet. Linda threw the phone on the other side of the room, furious and stared down at Lucifer. 

He stood sitting down on the floor, the back of his skull against the wall, his blurry, hatred look on her. She couldn't believe he was seriously ready to...No. He wasn't. The alcohol was responsible here. Not him. Alcohol and that thing that tormented him. The therapist crouched in front of him. Lucifer looked away, determined to express his annoyance. 

" Lucifer. ", she insisted softly, but firmly. 

He agreed to look her in the eye, swallowing with difficulty, feeling uncomfortable. 

" What happened? "

He looked at her without saying a word, an immense emotion reflecting in his dilated pupils. He looked so... _vulnerable_  at that moment. Linda worried all the more about the reasons that had led him to behave like this. He answered in one breath one single word. A name that explained everything: 

_" Chloe._ _"_

Linda saw Lucifer's eyes cloud by simply telling this name. Simple and so full of meaning. A slight hiccup escaped him and he raised his hand to his chest, pulling forcefully the fabric of his shirt at the level of his heart. Lucifer stared against into his therapist's eyes, a disconcerted look...confused. Betraying a deep suffering. 

" Help me...I've had enough...W-...Why? ", he stammered. 

He gripped more the fabric between his fingers, almost tearing it, a grimace of pain on his trembling lips. Linda looked at him without understanding. 

" Why... _what_ , Lucifer? "

" Why this is so painful  **here**?! ", shouted the latter, pointing to his chest. " I want it to stop! Make it stop, doctor...I can't take it anymore...I...I ca-…"

Linda saw one tear, then a second and another one gently flowing down Lucifer's unshaven cheeks. He continued to implored her with his eyes, disconcerted by the situation, by this flood of emotions and pain that took possession of his body. He moved his trembling hand to his wet cheek, watching the tears flowing down his fingers. 

Linda sighed softly, sincerely sorry to see him so and took him gently in her arms. Lucifer remained still in this embrace before closing his arms around the therapist and burying his face in the hollow of her shoulder. 

" Make it stop... ", he begged her one last time. 

She tightened her grip around his shoulders. Offering a protective embrace to the man in tears in her arms. 

To the Devil. 

Being prey to the most basic of human emotions. 

The sorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with..." Maybe "   
> ______________________________________
> 
> " Think about it, Lucifer...How did you feel the next morning when you realized she was gone? "   
> Lucifer opened his mouth again in order to give her a stinging answer, but closed it very quickly. He tried to revive the sensations he had felt before meeting her on the crime scene. What had he felt?   
> " I felt...I... I had a knot in my stomach and... ", he stammered, lost in thought.   
> " Were you... anxious? ", his therapist helped him, a slight smile on her lips.   
> Lucifer looked Linda in the eye, quickly turning his head away, feeling uncomfortable. He sat up, his muscles stiffened by tension. He swallowed before answering in a breath, before barely admitting to his feelings:   
> " Maybe... "  
> ______________________
> 
> Told you...not joyful at all! ^^   
> Thanks for reading me so far. Let a little comment as always and see you next Monday for the next chapter :p


	11. Maybe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!   
> Thanks for the comments, bookmarks and kudos since the last chapter! I really appreciate that :)  
> Here's the new chapter XD  
> A little talk between Lucifer and his therapist.  
> Enjoy and comment !

A purring. 

He was almost sure of it. Almost. Something was  _purring_ near him. Certainly not a car. No. It was something else. A purring less noisy than an engine, but equally unbearable for Lucifer. Every sound was as nice as nails on a blackboard. Fingernails figuratively scratching the inside of his skull. 

Lucifer let out a groan, annoyed by this incessant noise. A disturbance that forced him to reconnect himself with the world around him. Reconnecting with the new sensations that tortured each part of his body. Extremely unpleasant and unusual sensations. 

Sensations that Lucifer would have done without. 

He felt an insistent and painful pressure at the level of his sweaty temples, a pressure with increasing in intensity. Another sensation quickly caught his attention: his stomach seemed to want to literally experiment the principle of roller coaster. Lucifer let out a slight moan, ruined by all these odious physical sensations. The far too dynamic movements of his digestive system became more insistent. Lucifer retched. 

He felt... _nauseous_? How was this possible? 

He was the Devil. An immortal being. He wasn't supposed to tolerate the weak condition peculiar to mankind. He loved to lower himself to share their carnal desires, but...

Another retching took him, causing an umpteenth grunt. 

_" Bloody Hell..."_

Had he been infected by a supernatural disease? A toxin as dangerous for humans as for immortal beings? No, this theory was absurd. Ridiculous. In his defense, it was very difficult for him to formulate coherent thoughts with this vile jackhammer in the head. Lucifer wasn't at best with his physical and intellectual abilities. Everything seemed extremely arduous. Moving a limb, opening his eyes,…

Nothing was simple. 

A question ended up imposing on his foggy mind: where the hell was he? 

Lucifer tried to gather his scattered memories, hoping to establish a coherent timeline. A logical minimum. An explanation for his state and this untimely deafening purring for ten minutes now. 

He remembered going back to Lux after...his talk with Chloe. 

_" You're just a self-centered_ _asshole...who's doing good in bed! Nothing more! "_

A new pain awoke into his chest, as he felt his throat knotting for no valid reason. Why did he feel so bad? Why did the detective's words affect him so much? Why was he so much affected by these pathetic human emotions? And what were these emotions that tormented him relentlessly? The only thing certain for Lucifer was this pain, this surplus of human emotions to muzzle. He remembered drinking. A lot. More than that. Much more than that. This method didn't seem to work efficiently given his deplorable condition. He felt much worse than the day before. Or was it a few hours? Only a few minutes which had elapsed since the bitter words spat in his face by her? 

He didn't know. He knew no more. 

The rest was most confusing. It was the first time. Alcohol had never had that effect on him. Never. But Lucifer had never felt like that either. This may explain that. 

Maybe. 

He let out another grunt before opening one eye. Only one. Very gently. As cautiously as possible. He went from the most total darkness to an unbearable light. A light that quickly increased his migraine at the level of his painful temples. Lucifer quickly closed his eyes, a whistling coming from his mouth. What could illuminate so much? He'd have thought himself a few millimeters from the Sun! Which was totally impossible. He was well placed to know that. 

Lucifer waited a moment before carefully opening the same eye, placing the palm of his hand over it. Just in case. The light was still as bright. He opened both eyes, first blinded, then slowly becoming accustomed to the ambient light. A common light filtering gently through the blinds not far from him. A brightness still too strong for his retinas. Lucifer squinted, puzzled. 

What time was it? 

He lowered his hand and looked with care what was surrounding him. He was lying on a sofa, covered with a blanket to the waist, still fully dressed. Well... _dressed_. Manner of speaking. His clothes couldn't have been more crumpled then right now. Clothes filled with a tenacious alcohol fragrance that made him feel sick. A first. He...sick of alcohol. A previously unseen and unconceivable news. 

And yet...

Lucifer wondered who could be the owner of this sofa. Furniture he didn't know. Well, he didn't have any social relations with the furniture either! The surroundings didn't mean anything to him, however. He was quite torn between anxiety and curiosity. And an irrepressible desire to throw up the contents of his stomach. He wasn't really up for this last option. 

He stretched out in the sofa, settling himself – and his painful skull - more comfortably against the pillows. He took a deep breath and exhaled deeply, trying to calm down the dizzy quavers of his rebellious digestive system. An umpteenth purring reached his ears, once again increasing the throbbing pain along his temples. Lucifer gently turned his head towards the noise and met two yellow eyes. 

Dull and filthy eyes. Eyes surrounded by white mustaches and a fairly dense brown fur. He widened his eyes and shrank back against the cushions, disgusted. He didn't think he could be more disgusted, by the way. The cat was still purring and happily rocked its tail on the table of the living room. Lucifer stared at it, suspicious, a rictus on his face. 

" Back off, hellish creature! ", Lucifer mumbled in a furred voice. 

" There're cats in Hell? "

 

** ***** **

Lucifer jumped by hearing that voice, straightening up in a sitting position. A movement that made everything reeled around him. He briefly closed his eyes, deeply breathing through his nose before opening them again. He looked behind him and met Linda's gaze, the latter sitting at the table, a cup in her hands. She wore a jogging and a lilac-colored sweat, her hair tied to a loose ponytail. Lucifer stared at her for a moment without answering to her previous question, confused. Why had he spent the entire night on his therapist's private sofa? If only he could remember the last hours...

He stopped looking at her to glare at the quadruped monster near him, the latter still purring for some puzzling reason. Without any reason, possibly. These bloody creatures were ecstatic for a trifle : a caress, a word, meat...

" If there were any, Hell would be a terrible place, Doctor...", he answered, rising gently from the sofa. 

Linda laughed softly at his answer. Lucifer walked along the sofa, the cat spying on every gesture, intrigued. Lucifer finally managed to get away from the beast and joined his therapist at the table. He slid a chair towards him, the grating of the wood on the ground increasing his migraine. He collapsed heavily in his seat, quickly burying his head between his arms under Linda's amused look. 

"Good morning, Lucifer! ", she said cheerfully, insisting on the  _good._  

"  _Good_...It depends on who, Doctor. " , Lucifer mumbled, his voice stifled by his arms. 

He vaguely heard her standing up without a word after a few seconds. A pronounced scraping noise was heard before him. Lucifer raised his head, focusing his blurry eyes on the glass of water before him. He stared at it for a moment before giving a puzzled look at his therapist, still standing at the opposite corner of the dining table. 

" What is it? ", he asked, stroking the glass with his fingers. 

" The best hangover remedy: water! ", she explained as she sat down on her seat.  

Lucifer stared at the glass before him, replying: 

" The Devil has no hangover..." 

" Well, Lucifer can't escape from it, obviously. You told me to have drank the entire Lux's storehouse! "

He looked at her, confused. The entire storehouse? Really? He didn't remember. Could he believe her? Yes, of course he could. Linda would never lie to him. He had no reason to doubt. Why had he drunk so much? Lucifer was constantly asking the question while knowing the answer perfectly. 

Chloe. 

Again and again Chloe. 

Chloe's dirty look. 

Chloe's evasion. 

Chloe's acid words. 

Chloe telling the truth. An unbearable truth. A truth arousing an intense pain in his chest. Pain he couldn't get rid of. 

Lucifer hardly swallowed and brought the glass to his lips, emptying it in one go. It did him some good, indeed. He put the empty glass on the table and gave a worried look to his therapist. The latter sipped her coffee quietly while looking out of the corner of her eye her patient in a pitiful condition. Patient who still wondered how he had arrived on his therapist's couch. 

He cleared his throat before asking: 

" How did I get here? "

Linda took another sip of coffee before putting her cup on the table and looking Lucifer in the eye. She leaned more comfortably against the back of her chair and enlightened Lucifer about the events of the night before: 

" You showed up at my office totally drunk around...eleven. You seemed quite disturbed about an altercation with Detective Decker. I proposed to drive you back, but you refused...so, I drove you at my place and you immediately fell on the couch. " 

Lucifer writhed on his chair, feeling uncomfortable. He felt ridiculous. And ashamed. He felt bad for getting so worked up about a common human. 

No. 

That wasn't true. 

Chloe was anything but common. He didn't know what she really was. For him. 

What they were or rather... what they could have been. 

" Do you want to talk about this, Lucifer? ", Linda asked softly. 

No. He didn't want to talk about it. It wasn't a matter of desire. Lucifer sighed deeply and glanced hesitantly at his therapist, who gave him a comforting smile. 

He  _had_   _to_  talk about it. 

 

** ***** **

Linda was patting the surface of the table with her fingertips for quite a while. Which was annoying Lucifer more and more. Could she just stop patting on this bloody table and focus on his problem? An insurmountable problem in the eyes of Lucifer. What should he do? Do not see Chloe again? Breaking off all ties with her? Going back to Hell? No. A bit too much drastic as a solution. He didn't really want to see the Burning Doors and the Damned Souls again. 

Lucifer let out a slight sigh as he rested his forearms on the table. He mechanically rubbed his moist temples with his fingertips, hoping to soften the painful palpitation that tortured him since he awoke. This pain was really uncomfortable. He was resolved to never drink that much again. It sounded like death penalty! But calm down his enthusiasm here wasn't a bad idea. He closed his eyes, continuing to rub with one hand his painful temple and enjoying the silence. 

Linda finally stopped patting her nails on the table and convincingly said: 

" I'm pretty sure that Chloe didn't mean a word of that, Lucifer. "

The latter sat up, leaning in turn more comfortably against the back of his chair. He let out a bitter exclamation at his therapist's fanciful remark. She was wrong. Strongly wrong. Lucifer crossed his arms on his chest and replied in an annoyed tone: 

" You're wrong, Doctor! We can't lie to the Devil! And Chloe didn't lie, believe me. " 

He'd have preferred to be wrong. For once. Just for once. He'd have preferred to hope. But the truth was there. Sharp. Chloe despised him. Lucifer wasn't worthy of her. She didn't desire him. He thought...

He was so stupid. 

Chloe should have seen who he really was, she shouldn't have stopped at the picture he gave, this picture given to him by the entire world. She should have...she should have seen beyond this. 

Linda nodded gently, pensive. 

" You misunderstood me, Lucifer. Chloe was indeed sincere about the content, but not about the style. "

Lucifer gave her a confused look, opening and closing his mouth quickly. What could he answer here? Did that even make any sense? Content...Style. What was that? Grammar?! Now? With his raging migraine? 

Before he could say anything, his therapist quickly continued: 

" Think about it, Lucifer...How did you feel the next morning when you realized she was gone? "

Lucifer opened his mouth again in order to give her a stinging answer, but closed it very quickly. He tried to revive the sensations he had felt before meeting her on the crime scene. What had he felt? 

" I felt...I... I had a knot in my stomach and... ", he stammered, lost in thought. 

" Were you... _anxious?_  ", his therapist helped him, a slight smile on her lips. 

Lucifer looked Linda in the eye, quickly turning his head away, feeling uncomfortable. He sat up, his muscles stiffened by tension. He swallowed before answering in a breath, before barely admitting to his feelings: 

" Maybe... "

The therapist nodded slightly, an appreciative nod. Lucifer couldn't see where she was going with this. How his "possible" anxiety could be a good thing? Did it really matter? Now that Chloe rejected him, nothing else mattered. He felt weary, exhausted. Without any reason. It wasn't a physical exhaustion: which would have been reasonable given the last excessive toot. A much...  _deeper_  exhaustion. Much more underhand. Lucifer couldn't have explained it himself. All he wanted at that precise moment was to lie down and sleep. Sleep as long as possible. Being alone. A strange desire. A powerful one. 

" If we study Chloe's words, she blames you for your inability to be intimately connected with a woman...", Linda began. 

Lucifer interrupted her with another mocking exclamation. His usual charming smile came on his lips. 

" If there's one thing I'm capable of...where I excel in, doctor...It's creating intimate bond! ", he laughed. 

" That's not what I mean, Lucifer. I'm talking about  _emotion_ _al_  bonds. Chloe knows your ability to...seduce. That's the problem. She's also afraid...", she continued, putting aside his salacious hint. 

Il narrowed his eyes, skeptical. Chloe...afraid? Afraid of what? And in what ways are his hobbies a problem? 

" I don't understand. What did my one-night stands got to do with this? ", Lucifer replied, leaning against the wooden table. 

" Most women aspire to relationship...to something meaningful than a fleeting one-night stand. Chloe is one of these women. You, Lucifer are more the kind of person to go right or left, where the pleasure is...where the facility is. The detective doesn't want to be part of your little black book, she wants more than that. A  _relationship_ , Lucifer! And instead of being rejected by you,  _she_  rejected  _you._  ", the therapist said calmly. 

Lucifer had listened to her with attention. With attention, and incomprehension too. A growing incomprehension with every word, every sentence formulated by his therapist. He also felt...insulted. Somehow. An opinion which he hastened to share with her: 

" She rejected me, yes! She should know-…"

Linda nodded gently and gave an indulgent look at her patient. Patient who stared at her without understanding. What now? 

" I'm not saying that this is your fault, Lucifer... or the detective's fault. I'm just stating a fact. Something that might help you to resolve this situation. You're assuming that Chloe knows your feelings for her...that she perfectly knows that there's not just sex between you. ", his therapist informed him. " She doesn't know. People for whom we have affection do not necessarily know it. You have to show your affection: by gestures, words, … You see? "

" I  _showed_  her, Doctor. I couldn't show it more, believe me! ", Lucifer exclaimed, more and more annoyed. 

Linda sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. 

" Once again, this is not about sex. On the contrary. You have to show her by your behavior in general. Told her what you're feeling for her, for instance...Having little thoughts for her. " 

Lucifer sighed in turn and retreated into silence. The therapist's words weren't completely absurd. Even a tad clever and insightful. Even though, he wasn't good for human interactions. And for good reason! He was the Devil! Torture, pleasure, desire...he could deal with this. 

A relationship...

Why was he considering this possibility? Their quarrel seemed insurmountable. Definitive. Putting an end to their partnership or any other kind of relationship between them. His therapist's explanations seemed pointless given the situation. 

What was he going to do? 

Lucifer ran his hand through his hair and showed a weary, resigned smile. 

" There's nothing more to show, Doctor.", he resigned. 

The pain in his chest once again expressed itself, Lucifer wincing at its touch. Linda pinched her lips, as she used to do before another disturbing emotional observation. For which bloody reason did he take an interest to in human emotions? Everything went from bad to worse since. His mortality, his dreadful manipulative and nymphomaniac mother, Uriel's death... And now this. A series of disasters that didn't seem to stop. 

" Well, in that case, nothing stops you here anymore, isn't it? Go back to Hell and use your time more cleverly! ", Dr. Martin said as she shrugged nonchalantly. 

He looked again at his therapist, annoyed by her last words. Words only pronounced to get on his nerves. To awaken in him this feeling of revolt. The visceral refusal to give up. To turn his back on this chance, this single opportunity. Turning his back on Chloe. 

He didn't want to give up. 

But...This isn't only up to him. Unfortunately. Or...fortunately. A bit of both. 

Linda didn't stop to look Lucifer in the eye, not in the least disturbed by his dirty look. She quickly continued: 

" You came here looking for something. Something you've found, Lucifer. Do not give it up as easily...to the slightest difficulty. That's the only advice I can give you. " 

He hardly swallowed, looking everywhere except his therapist. These emotions were bloody inconvenient! Too much intrusive. They got the upper hand on his thought. 

No. He didn't want to give up Chloe. Of course, he didn't. But how could he do? Was it up to him to do something? Would it be better to wait for a sign from the detective? But, if she actually didn't want to see him again...

Lucifer gave her a confused look as Linda got up from her chair. 

" What am I supposed to do? ", he asked her, completely lost. 

" No idea, I'm not the one who has feelings for Chloe. I can't help you here. ", she answered out of nowhere as she dropped her empty cup in the sink. " On the other hand, ... a shower could be an excellent starting point! "

He laughed softly at her comment about his hygiene and shook his head, quite relieved after this chat. The therapist gave a last smile before heading to the back of her house, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Alone with a choice to make. He leaned more comfortably against his chair, the back of his skull resting against the wall behind him. Lucifer stood like this for a moment, his head leaning against the wall, his eyes looking at the ceiling as his mind was working at full capacity. 

_Feelings._

Really? Was that it? The devil...The original monster...loving a human? 

This idea imbued with truth brought a new smile to Lucifer's lips. A dreamy...innocent smile. 

He...Lucifer...had feelings for...Chloe. 

_" Maybe..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with...." An act of faith "  
> ___________________________  
> Even with her closed eyes, Chloe could easily see Lucifer's shaken face. This intense disillusion in his eyes. His sadness. A sadness for which she was solely responsible. She felt so bad. She would have liked to go back. To take back what she said. To explain more calmly her fears to her partner. Having a real discussion with him. About them. About their common future or not. Decide on what happened next...together. Whether good or bad. Telling him her doubts. Listening to his own.   
> It was too late now.   
> _____________________
> 
> Thanks for reading me as always and for the comments/bookmarks/kudos ^^  
> Next chapter, next week :)


	12. An act of faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!   
> I'm so happy about the many comments you send me last week ^^   
> Keep going!   
> Here is the new translated chapter of this story for you ;)   
> Enjoy and comment as always!   
> Happy reading!

She had to make a decision. 

Now. 

Chloe took a deep breath and quickly grasped her cell phone. She stared intently at the screen, an intensity that could easily have melted anything. She hardly swallowed while stroking the cold surface of the phone with her thumb, hesitant. The young woman sighed softly while pinching her lips with apprehension, her phone still in her hands. She quickly dialed his number before suddenly put the phone down on her desk. She pressed her forehead against her palms, a long sigh escaping from her mouth. She raised her head and crossed her hands at the level of her chin, still staring at her cell phone. 

She had to do something.

But...  _what_ _?_  

He hadn't called her since yesterday. She couldn't really blame him for that. Not after... after...

Chloe leaned back against the uncomfortable back of her chair, her head bent over the ceiling. 

A day. 

A whole day without any news. Without a sign of life. A call or... just... a sign that he was fine. The young woman closed her eyes for a moment, the back of her skull still leaning against her seat. She sighed once more. No. He wasn't fine. How could he? She felt herself...overwhelmed with emotion. Guilty. Horrible. Revolting. There weren't enough words to fully define what she thought of her since...

Why had she reacted like this? 

How could she have told him these horrible things? 

The detective didn't recognize herself. That wasn't her. It was another woman who openly insulted her partner, who had despised him. A scared young woman, deeply hidden within herself. A woman she'd have liked to punish since that awful moment. A woman who had destroyed everything. Absolutely everything. 

Even with her closed eyes, Chloe could easily see Lucifer's shaken face. This intense disillusion in his eyes. His sadness. A sadness for which she was solely responsible. She felt so bad. She would have liked to go back. To take back what she said. To explain more calmly her fears to her partner. Having a real discussion with him. About them. About their common future or not. Decide on what happened next...together. Whether good or bad. Telling him her doubts. Listening to his own. 

It was too late now. 

A fact that more and more imposed on her. She had stepped over the line. Chloe nibbled her lower lip, blaming herself for acting like...

She stared uncertainly at the phone on her desk. What could she do? Call him? Yes? No? What if he didn't answer the phone? And if he answered, what would he told her? Would he hang up on her? She didn't know how to behave. 

Should she give him time and left him some space? Shouldn't she do that? 

Should she wait for news or go after him? After all, she was totally responsible for this mess, wasn't she? Or maybe... was it already too late to put things right between them? She probably would have had to go after him in the police station and beg his forgiveness the very moment. Why hadn't she gone after him? 

As time went by, the situation seemed more disastrous, unforgivable. 

Chloe finally stopped staring at her cell phone, rising from her seat to go to the kitchen of the precinct. It was still early, apart from her and some night officers, there wasn't a soul in the place. She had stayed here the entire night, torturing her mind about the ongoing homicide and Lucifer. Women could unfortunately do several things at the same time...

She didn't want to see Maze and have to explain the stormy situation between her and her former boss. Undergoing her roommate's anger wasn't really possible. Chloe was already torturing herself pretty well all by herself, she didn't need Mazikeen's help for this. She could do it all alone. 

Chloe mechanically tightened the elastic band that held her hair in a more or less correct ponytail. She looked for a clean cup and helped herself a generous amount of coffee. She leaned against the white table against the wall and sipped the burning liquid with her lips, her mind wandering once more towards her partner. 

What should she do? What did she  _want_ to do?  

Ella burst into the room with a file in her hand. Chloe straightened up a little and smiled softly at her colleague. The forensic was apparently happy to find her here, a huge smile on her lips. 

" Ah! Here you are! ", she exclaimed as she walked over to her and opened the file she had in her hand. " I've found something! A beautiful thumbprint on the victim's neck. I made some research in the database and finally found a match. It took me the all night, but it really worth it! The thumbprint matches to a certain Matthew Votwick.  _Really_   _big_ psychiatric history!  ** _And_**... the victim had pressed charges against him for aggression a few days before her death! ", she concluded in a victorious voice while handing the file to Chloe. 

The latter put her cup on the table and took the file from Ella's hands. She quickly flipped through its contents and nodded absent-mindedly. 

" That's...great, Ella. Thanks. ", she thanked her vaguely, closing the file.

Ella frowned at her reaction and stood in front of her. 

" Well, I clearly expected another kind of reaction. Something like:  _Thank you so much for your help, Ella! You're the best forensic of L.A.!_ ", she said, staring at the detective. 

Chloe smiled at her remark and put the file on the table, getting her cup back at the same time. 

" Sorry. I just have other things in mind for now, so...", she admitted, taking another sip of bitter coffee. 

Ella nodded as she was still staring at the young woman in front of her, who was more and more uncomfortable by this insistent look. Did she have something on her nose or...? Ella pinched her lips in a thoughtful pout before saying:

" You should call him. "

" Mmmh? ", muttered Chloe as she took another sip. " What are you talking about? "

Ella let out a dismayed exclamation and she smiled more, her colleague staring at her in turn, dumbstruck. 

"  _Lucifer!_ ", the forensic finally replied. 

Chloe froze, worried. How could she know? Dis she really know about them? If she knew, who else could...? Ella felt her reluctance to talk about this, but didn't give up anyway. 

" We're friends, aren't we? You know you can tell me everything! "

Chloe nodded vaguely in reply, reluctant to pour out. She knew she could trust her, but the situation was still too...complicated to reveal anything. Given the tragic turn of events, there wasn't really something to relate anyway. Ella also took a cup of coffee before asking confidentially :

 " So? How was it? "

The detective looked at her without understanding. The forensic rolled her eyes before exclaiming: 

" Oh, come on! It's as plain as the nose on your face that there was more than a kiss! So,  _how was it? "_

Chloe rolled her eyes in turn. Is it that obvious? Really? Or was it just bluff? Chloe didn't know what to answer to her. Answering was a kind of admission and not answering: a half-admission. Not better. She looked sharply at the forensic when the latter repeated her question again. Question which would remain unanswered. Unclearly answered, anyway. Chloe's facials and bodily responses probably answered for her. Whether she wanted it or not. She just hoped Ella would show a minimum of discretion about this. Chloe didn't particularly want to share her privacy with the rest of the precinct...especially with Dan. Ella softened her enthusiasm as she saw her colleague's look, but didn't give up either to extort her some information: 

" Well...I suppose this part can wait. But you still can talk to me if you need. ", she offered. "  _Friends_ , remember? ", she implied, pointing at both of them. 

Chloe pinched her lips, hesitant. She stroked her warm cup with the thumb as her colleague and new friend gave her a comforting look. To hell with it...Why not? She herself was in dead end. Someone else's opinion – a little more unbiased than hers – could probably help her. She looked at the contents of her cup and quickly explained: 

" Last night was...amazing. Too much amazing. It was like I woke up from a wonderful dream. " 

" What do you mean? ", Ella asked her. 

" I-… Lucifer isn't really the faithful type. He has never hidden his liking for multiple and fleeting affairs. And if...and if that night was nothing more than another affair for him? ", the detective said. " I didn't want to be part of his little black book like an umpteenth trophy to expose...I-...We argued and..." 

Chloe remained silent, confused. The emotions associated to this argument stroke her right in the heart again. The guilt came back too, heavier on her frail shoulders. She shook her head gently, blaming herself to react like this. To have reacted like this to him. She brought her cup to her lips and watched Ella from where she was. The young forensic seemed to be thinking at full speed, her gaze on the ground without really seeing it. 

She raised her heard after a few seconds, looking the detective in the eye. 

" How does Lucifer behave with his...trophies? ", she suddenly asked her. 

Chloe didn't really get where Ella was going with this, but nevertheless answered her odd question: 

" Euhmmm...He's...quite arrogant, confident...Focused on the physical pleasure, as far as I know. .." 

" And with you? "

" With me? ", Chloe repeated, puzzled. 

Ella nodded. Chloe thought about the answer she might give. How was Lucifer behaving with her? He was quite the same, actually. He was also arrogant, confident...but...There was something else. He was sometimes...attentive to her, caring for her. Insignificant gestures at first sight, but which had touched the detective. He letting go with her, lowering his mask of unwavering seducer by her sides. The young woman remembered his suffering at Father Franck's death. Or his behavior when she was sad. His way to comfort her, awkwardly but...He comforted her. He didn't tease her or...behave as if nothing happened, like most people close to her. She thought about their embrace in the kitchen when he had talked about her father...that he would be proud of her. She also thought about last night.

Chloe couldn't help smiling gently at this thought. Ella saw it and smiled in turn. 

" I think you already know the answer...", the forensic said. 

" I don't know if Lucifer is capable of...more. Could he give up his actual way of life for a possible  ** _us_** _?_  ", the young woman hesitated. 

Ella walked away from the furniture, her cup in her hand. 

" Well...You won't have an answer if you prevent him from proving his worth, will you? It's like an... act of faith! ", her colleague answered, smiling once more. 

Chloe also smiled by hearing these last words and followed the forensic walking towards the door with her eyes. She took the file back on the table and thanked her: 

" And thank you for-…" 

" No problem! And you should call him! ", said Ella without turning around as she left the kitchen. 

Chloe was alone again. Alone with her thoughts. Alone with that decision to make. Which seemed easier than before, much less...desperate. She put her cup into the sink and looked at the file. She was going to have a little chat with this dear Matthew before settling the  _Lucifer_  problem. Chloe closed the file and went out of the kitchen too, het thoughts turned towards her partner. Towards their relationship. Towards that possible "us". 

Yes, Ella was right. 

Everything started with...

An act of faith. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with..." A tad over the top "  
> ____________________________  
> Lucifer took a deep breath and got his keys back, putting them into his pocket. He got out of his corvette and walked towards the suspect's house...this Votwick. He finally saw the detective's car parked in front of the house. A horrible place. The blue paint of the façade was flaky everywhere, some parts completely colorless. The ground in front of the house was abandoned, weeds invaded every inch of the lawn. A real slum. Lucifer frowned when he saw the front door wide-opened on the inside.   
> He didn't have the occasion to wonder more about this, a gunshot resounding inside the dilapidated house.   
> __________________________________________________
> 
> Thank you very much to read me and to comment these chapters :) I'm glad to share this story with you!   
> See you all next week !  
> Have a nice day :)


	13. A tad over the top

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will they finally talk? Maybe...Maybe not. Who knows?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!   
> I'm glad to see so many views and comments for this story. It's really wonderful! XD   
> As always, here is the new chapter (some action in it, I don’t tell more).   
> Let a comment if you like, of course. It's always highly appreciated.   
> Happy reading!

Lucifer let out a grunt of annoyance.

The strong lights of the precinct greatly increased his migraine, also increasing his discomfort. 

Why did they permanently enlighten anything? 

He briefly closed his eyes, frowning at the intense pain that was coiling his temples. A long cold shower didn't change anything. No more than the few terrestrial drugs. Though he wasn't really surprised by their uselessness. Lucifer was the Devil. A painkiller couldn't affect his metabolism. Raging migraine or not. 

He opened his eyes, his face still slightly stiffened by pain and the insistent nausea that gave a hard time to his body. 

Never again. 

Never again would he drink so much. 

Loving crisis or not.

_Love..._

Lucifer still had some difficulty to associate this word to his own condition. He... _in love_. It really sounded like a nauseating sopping movie. But the more he thought about Chloe, the more this idea was obvious. Even much more than that. 

He ran his hand through his damp hair, feeling uncomfortable. Feeling anxious, in particular. Anxious...again. For many reasons. Reasons with one single name: Chloe. Lucifer went down the stairs of the precinct, looking around him. Trying to find the detective. His gaze stopped at her desk. A desk without the young woman's presence. 

Wonderful. 

Where the hell was she? He came from her house. Chloe should certainly be around. 

" Look who's here...", seemed to scream – in Lucifer's ears, anyway – a voice not far from him. 

Lucifer winced once more under the deafening assault of that far too familiar voice. A voice he usually didn't want to hear. Even less with this raging headache. Lucifer sighed briefly and turned toward Daniel, peeved. A  _douche_  who watched him, apparently torn between consternation and delight as for his deplorable condition. 

" Wow...You really look like hell...", the Detective Douche felt obliged to say. 

" Well... I guess that other's stupidity tends to deface me, Daniel. ", Lucifer mumbled, still looking for the detective. " If we've done with pleasantries, perhaps you could tell me where the detective is? "

He looked at Dan, who made an obvious effort to ignore his last provocation. He shook his head, shrugging. 

" No idea. She was here thirty minutes ago. Ask Ella...Maybe she can help you. ", he proposed. 

Upon those words, the detective douche walked away from Lucifer. The latter went to Ella's lab, hoping that she could help him. He had already had enough of chasing after Chloe. What he was about to do was already complicated enough to play this game. In other circumstances, why not. More private circumstances...If all went well. He truly hoped so. He saw Ella near the lightning table, the latter hoping up and down at the pace of the piercing music in her ears. The forensic didn't notice his presence. Lucifer came closer to her and grabbed one of the young woman's earphone with one hand, quickly pulling it out from her ear. Ella jumped and slowly turned toward Lucifer, who vaguely waved her. 

" Good morning, Ella. Have you seen the detective? ", he asked straight away, in a hurry and anxious. 

" Hi, Luc-... ** _ifer_** ** _!_**  ", she added quickly under his dirty look. " What's up, dude? "

Lucifer didn't know what answer. He felt anything but well. Nauseous. Sick. Or even miserable was much closer to reality. He strongly pinched his lips as he heard her screaming voice, his features briefly clenching with the pain into his temples. He took a deep breath, a strong nausea choking him and gently exhaled, Ella looking at him worriedly. 

" Could you... _please_... lower your voice, darling? ", he asked very slowly, the muscles of his jaw clenched with pain. 

Ella oddly nodded under Lucifer's confused look. She pulled the other earphone from her ear, then taking off her blue gloves that had hitherto covered her hands. 

" Bad night, huh? For people who didn't think they could be together, you're both rather synced! ", Ella noticed. 

Lucifer glared at her and repeated his question, annoyed:

" Ella, have you seen Chloe? "

" Oops! Sorry! Eumh...yeah! She's gone, thirty minutes ago. She had to question a suspect. Wait! ", the forensic exclaimed while searching the contents of a file on the lightning table. 

She took a piece of paper from it with a name and an address and handed it to Lucifer. The latter took it and quickly read the information before giving it back to Ella, already heading towards the exit. 

" Thank you. ", he said quickly. 

" Good luck! ", she supported him. 

_Luck._

Yes.

Lucifer would probably need luck. A titanic dose of luck. 

** ***** **

 

Lucifer turned the key into the contact, the engine finally ceasing its unbearable throb. He tightened his hands around the wheel, a new wave of anxiety squeezing his abdomen. He had to get used to this sensation. Anxiety no longer seemed to want to leave him. Escorting each of his steps, each of his breaths, each of his thoughts. An anxiety only appearing while the detective was concerned.

 It was ridiculous. 

And yet...

Strange emotions invaded Lucifer's body while thinking about the young woman. While thinking about their last talk. About what he was going to do. 

Lucifer took a deep breath and got his keys back, putting them into his pocket. He got out of his corvette and walked towards the suspect's house...this  _Votwick_. He finally saw the detective's car parked in front of the house. A horrible place. The blue paint of the façade was flaky everywhere, some parts completely colorless. The ground in front of the house was abandoned, weeds invaded every inch of the lawn. A real slum. Lucifer frowned when he saw the front door wide-opened on the inside. 

He didn't have the occasion to wonder more about this, a gunshot resounding inside the dilapidated house. 

His heart missed a beat at this gunshot. A gunshot that turned Lucifer's blood to ice. A gunshot that didn't look too good. 

" Chloe...", he whispered, horrified. 

 

** ***** **

 

Lucifer rushed towards the house, running as fast as he could. His mind only turned to a single goal: find Chloe. Protect her. He came to the doorstep, breathless. Not by his mad race, but more by the fear that paralyzed his heart. He looked anguished all around him, in search of the detective. He heard the sounds of a struggle upstairs, right above him. Sounds quickly followed by a cry. Which petrified him. 

Chloe's cry. 

**_" Chloe! "_** _,_ he yelled instinctively, running to the stairs. 

He quickly went up the steps separating him from the young woman. Fear gripped his heart harder at every step. Standing in the corridor, he looked around him, yelling once more:

**_"_ ** **_Detective_ ** **** **_!_ ** **_"_ **

Lucifer did his best to calm down his erratic heartbeats and his shaky breath. 

He had to calm down.

Freaking out wouldn't help Chloe. His muscles were nevertheless tight by that fear that didn't leave him since those gunshots. He couldn't think. Chloe was all that mattered right now. He heard a muffled sound inside a room to his right, not far from him. Lucifer rushed to the door, kicked it open with his full strength. He saw the detective on the ground, unmoving. Lucifer's heart missed a beat, a shiver of fear going all over his body as he hastily kneeled to her sides. 

" Chloe...", he whispered softly, worried. 

The young woman's forehead was covered with blood. 

Her blood. 

She didn't react by hearing his voice, her eyes obstinately closed. 

Why didn't she open her eyes?! 

Lucifer hardly swallowed, distraught. He raised a hand and put it against the detective's throat, scaring to not feeling anything under his fingers. He let out a deep sigh of relief as he felt regular palpitations against his shaking fingers. He put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. 

" Detective...Can you hear me? Chloe? ", he tried again with a shaking voice. 

The latter moved gently as she heard his voice. Lucifer closed his eyes briefly, relieved. Chloe groaned, her thin face distorted by pain. She moved again, awkwardly trying to get back on her feet. A failed attempt. Lucifer held her in his arms, gently stroking her bloody face. 

" You'll be fine, Detective...", he comforted her in a hoarse voice. " I'm right here. "

Chloe was trying to push him away. In vain. Lucifer thought he heard her mutter vague words. More and more worried about her obvious nervousness in his arms, he listened to her with attention: 

" B-...b-...behind you...", she mumbled more distinctly. 

Too late. 

A sharp pain exploded in the back of his skull, Lucifer letting out a cry of surprise. He dropped the detective, collapsing not far from her, his back against the wall. The pain was unbearable, beating fiercely over the entire surface of his neck, literally blinding him. He blinked several times, confused. The pain was eclipsing everything. Whether he likes it or not. He couldn't hold it. He put his hand to the back of his neck then brought it back before his eyes. 

A blurry vision. A red vision. 

A vision that left him more lost than before by the situation. 

He frowned and lowered his hand, looking at Chloe. The latter seemed more awake, trying once more to get back on her feet thanks to her forearms. He felt a movement near him and focused his blurry gaze in that direction. An unclear figure – manly figure, obviously – was hastily rushing to Chloe. He violently kicked her on the stomach. The young woman cried out and fell back on the ground, curling up on herself, tangible pain on her skinned face. 

Pain that aroused Lucifer's rage. 

Eclipsing his own pain. Eclipsing everything except this man to eliminate. This man who had dared to touch the detective. Touching Chloe.

_His_  Chloe.

A deadly mistake. A mistake that deserve some punishment. 

Right now. 

Lucifer felt his eyes glowing with the Hellish Flames as the rage filled his veins. While the man – possible this dear Votwick – was seizing Chloe's gun on the ground near the door, Lucifer straightened up as best as he could, putting weight on the furniture. The man took the weapon and turned to him, alarmed by the noise. 

Too late. 

For him. 

Screaming with rage, Lucifer – by using the wall behind him – rushed to him, tackling him on the stomach. Taking him away from Chloe. Votwick dropped the weapon, a surprise exclamation escaping him as he and Lucifer collapsed outside the room. Lucifer took a deep breath, stunned. 

_" Bloody mortality..."_

His tackle was considerably less strong than he thought, a lack of strength resulting from his head wound and – invariably – from Chloe's presence. 

Never mind. He should do with it. 

All that mattered right now, was Chloe. Lucifer had to protect her. Whatever the cost. He tried to get back on his feet thanks to his forearms, each move intensifying the shooting pain in the back of his skull and making his vision more unstable. The corridor seemed to reel in a nauseating way around him as he grabbed the banister rail to get back on his feet. Another pain at the level of his ribs caused him to let out a gasp, Lucifer loosening his grip around the banister rail and collapsing once more on the ground. He gasped and tried to inspire some air into his painful lungs, faint wheezing coming out of his mouth as Votwick came closer. The latter grappled his collar, getting Lucifer back on his feet to pin him violently against the wall adjoining the room where Chloe was still standing. 

Chloe. 

One single word that revived Lucifer's rage, awakening a new strength inside him. A ravaging strength. 

As the man squeezed his trachea – Lucifer suffocating under his grip – the latter groped the piece of furniture near him with his hand. His fingers closed on a blow glass vase. He grasped it and smashed it against his assailant's temple. Who finally loosened his grip around his neck, staggering backwards. Lucifer let out a shrill wheezing, the air finally filling his lungs. He took a deep breath before rushing to Votwick again, leaning against the banister rail. Which crackled and gave way under their weight, Lucifer and the suspect crashing down the stairs to the first floor in a dreadful roar. The back of Lucifer's skull bluntly met the wood floor, hundreds of luminous spots obstructing his field of vision. He blinked several times, panting and sweating. His vision finally cleared up, other unpleasant sensations awakening on either side of his body. 

His right arm hurt him atrociously with every movement. Lucifer groaned, turning his head and looking for Votwick. This bastard couldn't escape him. He had to be punish. Now. Thanks to his left arm, Lucifer got back on his feet somehow, greatly staggering. He saw Votwick not far from the front door. This coward tried to escape. 

No way. 

Lucifer drew on his last strength, catching the man at the level of his legs. They collapsed on the ground again, both struggling to get the upper hand on the other. Upper hand finally got by Lucifer. The latter punched him in the face, momentarily stunning him. He grasped him in turn by the collar of his dirty shirt, lifting him a few centimeters from the ground. 

Mortal or not, Lucifer still had a supernatural strength. Quickly reduced, but still here. A good thing. Thanks to his strength, Lucifer threw Votwick to the wall adjoining the kitchen, which cracking at this violent touch. He came forward him and grabbed him by the throat, taking great delight by seeing fear in his eyes. He'd make him pay a hundredfold for this cowardice. Attacking a woman. 

Attacking Chloe. 

A crime that deserved punishment. 

Now. 

Lucifer hit him once more against the wall, which gave way under this impact, the two men drifted away by the crumbling. Lucifer coughed under the stifling and uncomfortable presence of the dust around him. He was exhausted. Enraged, but completely out of energy. He had, however, to deal with this bastard. 

Chloe's life depended on it. 

A motivation not to lose sight of. A sufficient motivation to force himself to get back on his feet again. Position highly wobbly. He was dizzy and his vision was blurry too, as he looked for his assailant. 

He let out a gasp, an unbearable pain rising in his gut. He looked down and stared blankly at the sharp knife deeply dug in his abdomen. 

_" What the he-…?! "_

Lucifer raised his head, disturbed, catching the crazy suspect's eye. Suspect holding firmly the handle of the knife. Suspect who had just stabbed him. 

Lucifer blinked several times, a disturbing cold chilling his veins and the rest of his body. He felt detached from his own body and, at the same time, directly connected with the nerve center of his brain; the latter yielding under this unbearable pain. Lucifer opened the mouth, a lamentable groan coming out from it as Votwick ruthlessly removed the knife from his gut. 

Lucifer reeled back, putting his shaking hands on his wound streaked with blood, his back banging against a piece of furniture behind him. He miserably collapsed on the ground, his breathing speeding up quickly under the pain. He watched the white fabric of his shirt becoming red rather quickly. Much too fast. There was blood everywhere. That blood running along his fingers, imperturbable. Relentless. 

His blood. 

Lucifer felt his eyes close softly, his consciousness escaping him. He couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not. Unconsciousness could have its benefits. No more pain, for example. Although death wasn't really conceivable, which went hand in hand with it. 

He wanted to stay conscious. 

He really did. 

A weak will tottering under the tenacious assault of oblivion. 

A deafening noise rang not far from him. A sound that vaguely told him something. 

A gunshot. 

It was a gunshot. Followed by a muffled sound. 

Lucifer opened his eyes, focusing as best as he could his blurry gaze on Chloe. Safe and sound. Chloe aiming at Votwick, the barrel of her gun smoking by the previous shot. A gunshot that had hit the suspect right in the head, who had collapsed not far from Lucifer, his empty eyes looking at him. 

" My God... ** _Lucifer!_**  "

It was really strange for the latter to be so cold and yet to be sweaty. He felt vaguely moved by the detective, the latter placing his head on her lap as she was quickly removing – under Lucifer's blankly gaze – her leather jacket to press it against the wound. 

Lucifer remembered Linda's words. 

_" You have to show her by your behavior in general. Told her what you're feeling for her, for instance... Having little thoughts for her. "_

Little thoughts...

Had he not precisely a little thought for her? An endearment? 

Although, from Lucifer's point of view, being stabbed for the woman you loved appeared as...

A tad over the top. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with.... " The truth "   
>  _____________________________  
>  The detective swallowed and put both hands over the jacket, pressing as hard as possible to stop the bleeding. Lucifer winced once again as she did so, his face as white as a sheet tensed with pain. The blood continued to run along his sides, running insidiously beneath the pressure points, also staining Chloe's hands.   
> He was losing too much blood.   
> Why was there so much blood?!   
>  ________________________________________  
> Thanks again for reading me ^^ I hope you'll like the rest!   
> Bye!


	14. The truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer is badly injured. Chloe had to help him. Will he live or not to talk?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> Thanks for the comments, kudos and bookmarks ^^ It's highly appreciated, believe me!   
> Here is the new chapter!   
> Enjoy!

_No, no, no,_ _no_ _!_

Chloe dropped her gun on the wood floor of the kitchen, the barrel still steaming after the last gunshot, and rushed to Lucifer's side. The latter was half-collapsed on the ground, the back of his skull leaning against a spoiled kitchen unit. He didn't seem to notice her presence near him, putting his trembling hands at the level of the deep wound in his abdomen. There was blood everywhere. On his hands. On his white shirt, losing far too quickly its original color in favor of a gruesome coloring. On the ground beneath him. 

So much blood. 

Chloe knelt quickly beside him, Lucifer gasping feebly under the intense pain he was enduring. He continued to stare at his hands reddened with his own blood with some fascination. The young woman seized him by the shoulders, this simple movement making her partner wince in pain, and put his head on her lap. Lucifer finally looked at her, with a blurry and... confused gaze. The detective quickly removed her leather jacket and pushed it forcefully against the open wound. Lucifer held back a groan of protest, this time. A groan too weak to Chloe's ears. She pulled her phone from her pocket with her free hand. She quickly dialed an emergency number, her hand trembling violently around the phone. She rose it to her ear, looking anxiously at Lucifer. 

" This is unit 831, El Serano 415. We need an ambulance, code 4!", she said quickly before hanging up the phone. 

What could she do now? 

What did she have to do?! 

She couldn’t think anymore, she was completely freaking out in fact. 

What the hell was she thinking?! Come alone here to catch a suspect with heavy psychological history...

It was no longer professional misconduct, but rather reckless endangerment. She hadn't thought before acting, stupidly risking her life. Risking Lucifer's life. 

The detective swallowed and put both hands over the jacket, pressing as hard as possible to stop the bleeding. Lucifer winced once again as she did so, his face as white as a sheet tensed with pain. The blood continued to run along his sides, running insidiously beneath the pressure points, also staining Chloe's hands. 

He was losing too much blood. 

Why was there so much blood?! 

The young woman stared at her partner's face, a face far too blank for her taste. She had to keep him conscious at all costs. Keeping him alive. 

" Lucifer! Come on, Lucifer, open your eyes! Stay with me, okay? You have to stay awake! ", she told him in a slightly quavering voice, as the rest of her body. 

Lucifer blinked, this simple gesture pretending to require his entire will. But he kept his eyes opened, focusing his black eyes in hers. Holding on it like a life preserver in the raging ocean. Chloe held on it too. 

To not give in. To be strong. Be there for him. To not abandon him. 

To not allow herself to be driven by the fear that overwhelmed her more by every second, by every extra inch won by this pool of blood beneath him. 

They have to hold on together. Until help got here. Until he'd be out of the woods. 

He'll be okay. 

There was no other way. The detective categorically refused to even consider another possibility. 

He had to be okay. He had no choice! 

She continued to firmly press her hands over her jacket, another groan letting out by her partner. 

Good. 

A groan meant he was still breathing. That he was still reacting. Any reaction was preferable to none. He was now staring at a point above him, his gaze blankly, his mouth slightly open and letting only brief, wheezing breaths. 

" Stay with me, Lucifer! Come on, talk to me! I usually don't have to ask! ", Chloe teased him, embracing him more against her, his trembling shoulder against her chest. 

Her partner smiled to this clumsy remark, a weak smile. A smile that didn't lower her anxiety. She cursed the paramedics which took too long to come. 

What the hell were they doing?! 

" I-...shouldn't...-ve listened...Linda. ", Lucifer mumbled so softly that Chloe thought she had misunderstood. 

" What? Listening to her about what? ", She asked, trying to place properly her jacket stained with blood on the open wound. 

Lucifer tensed in her embrace, strongly wincing with another wave of pain. His breathing increased to turn into irregular breaths. Chloe felt totally helpless, watching Lucifer bleed to death without being able to do anything about it. Her jacket was useless, her partner's blood still flowing out of his body at a worrying speed. 

" Sh-...suggested m-... to...", Lucifer had a coughing fit which made him lean forward violently, gasping for a moment before trying again: "...to show my feelings...f-...for you...' 

Chloe stared at him without saying a word, disconcerted. She opened her mouth to quickly close it, filled with emotion. 

Despite the tragic turn of the events, this avowal...these simple words gave rise to an intense emotion that the detective wouldn't have suspected to have deep down inside herself. 

Lucifer...who tried to prove he really cared about her. Still as clumsily, obviously. But always with this eternal...passion signed Lucifer. 

He truly had the worst timing for a declaration! 

" Well...I really prefer flowers to... _this_! ", Chloe suggested to him, smiling softly. 

He nodded, exhausted. 

Chloe moved her right hand to Lucifer's cheek as white as his shirt, if not more. Seeing him like this, so weak...in such distress...It was really unbearable for her. And she couldn't do anything to make him feel better. All she could do, was to prevent him to close his eyes. Forcing him to stay conscious for as long as possible. He closed his eyes again, his breathing weakened more and more with each drop of blood joining the horribly big pool beneath him, her jeans now soaking with blood too. 

Why was he loosing so much blood? 

Chloe inhaled deeply, trying to calm her uncontrollable heartbeats in her chest while again pressing her jacket soaked with blood on the wound. There was so much blood everywhere that she could no longer accurately locate the entry point of the blade. She shook softly, but also firmly Lucifer by the shoulder. 

There was no way he'll die on her! She wouldn't allow it! 

Never. 

Not as long as she lives! 

" Lucifer, open your eyes! Keep talking to me! ", the detective encouraged him, on edge. 

The latter frowned softly before opening his eyes again. He had difficulty keeping them open, his eyelids gaining more ground with each new attempt. He hardly swallowed before focusing his wobbly attention on her. 

" Ti-...red...", he complained before closing his eyes briefly. 

She gave him a comforting smile as tears threatened to appear in her eyes. She couldn't bear to see him like this. It was real torture. A stab in the heart. 

" I know...I know. You have to hold up, okay? Hold on, Lucifer! Help is on its way! ", she tried again, gently shaking him. 

Chloe heard more and more distinctly the piercing sirens of police cars and ambulances converging at full speed towards them. Not fast enough. Time had never seemed to slow down as much as it did right now. Everything seemed to slow down except the worsening of her partner's health. It was the opposite. She tightened her grip around his shoulder, preventing him from slipping directly on the dusty floor and bathed with his own blood. Chloe looked through the kitchen window, glimpsing the long-awaited colored lights. 

Still too far from them. 

She gritted her teeth, anxious. Chloe was only anxiety. Fear. Pure panic. 

Could they not speed up? Did they understand the urgency concept? 

" …'sorry...", Lucifer mumbled in her arms, drawing the detective's attention to him. 

She frowned, confused. Why was he apologizing? What was that for? He had nothing to reproach himself with! She was the person to blame for this disastrous situation. 

" What happened here is not your fault, Lucifer. ", she reassured him gently. 

The latter faintly shook his head, eyes closed. Chloe stared at him, puzzled. He opened his eyes, suddenly more conscious than before. He darted his black, intense gaze into hers, grabbing her hand with his. He squeezed it gently, continuing to stare at her with a new and disturbing intensity. 

" I'm...sorry.", he said again, grabbing more his trembling fingers around the young woman's hand. 

And Chloe understood. 

She finally did. 

An understanding accompanied by a stabbing pain in her own chest. Not physical pain. Something much deeper than that. Something much more important. A painful understanding. She pressed her fingers firmly around Lucifer's, losing herself into his eyes. She understood what he was referring to. 

Them. 

This night. 

The day after. 

Her sharp and unfortunate words. 

He apologized. Him. To have made her suffer. To have got her scared indirectly. For her doubts because of him. For her stupid fears. They seemed totally and eternally stupid now. And once again, Lucifer wasn't responsible. 

She was. It was up to her to apologize. Not him. 

What she did, overwhelmed: 

" I'm the one who had to apologize, Lucifer. I didn't mean it! Not a single word! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! "

She was sobbing now, overwhelmed by all these intense emotions and that profound fear compressing her guts. She vaguely heard screech of tires outside the house, red and blue lights filtering through the window. Chloe looked at the kitchen door, relieved, watching for help. 

They'll be fine. 

An immense weight finally faded from her shoulders. A broad smile appeared on her face as she looked back to the man lying in her arms. A smile that quickly disappear by seeing Lucifer...unmoving. She shook him, hoping to force him once more to open his eyes. Without any result. She shook him harder, her nails sticking into the fabric of his jacket at the level of his shoulder. 

" Lucifer?  ** _Lucifer!_**  ", Chloe yelled, freaking out. 

He didn't open his eyes. His fingers gently slid between hers, his hand falling softly against his side in the pool of blood around him. Chloe's eyes widened with terror, shaking her partner's unmoving body frantically. She stared blankly at his chest, relieved to see it rise feebly. A breath far too weak to show anything good. On the contrary. She grabbed his face with her hands covered with his own blood, leaving red marks on his deathly-pale face. She brought her face closer to his, scrutinizing him intensely before warning him hoarsely: 

" Don't you dare to die, Lucifer Morningstar... I forbid you! "

Paramedics knelt beside Lucifer. Chloe continued to stare at his face apprehensively. A man spoke to her without the words reaching her mind, his voice seemed stifled, unclear. Nothing existed except her and Lucifer. A hand pressed her right shoulder without making her move from a single inch. She could do nothing but staring at Lucifer, passing by this look her will to keep him alive. To let him stay with her. Together. 

" Chloe. "

The latter turned softly to Dan, who squeezed his palm more on her shoulder.  

" Let them help him, Chloe...", he said softly, pushing her gently but also firmly back, away from Lucifer. 

She let herself be pushed around. Slowly stepping back near the window, staring stubbornly at Lucifer's body. Lucifer surrounded by strangers who tried to save his life. To save hers. Chloe's life depended on her partner's. That was how it was. Whether she liked it or not. And she wanted it. With all her heart. Heart missing a beat at each exclamation or urgent order from one of the doctors near him. She was only breathing at the rhythm of Lucifer's breathing. They put him on a drip as another placed a compressive point on the open wound. Another paramedic put on an oxygen mask before unfolding an extra stretcher. They lifted Lucifer from the ground, skillfully slipping the stretcher beneath him and tied the orange belts to his shoulders and feet, immobilizing him. Under her blankly, anxious gaze, the paramedics raised the stretcher and took her partner with them. 

Away from her. 

Chloe started to move in his direction, stopped in her tracks by Daniel's firm grip around her wrist covered with blood. Lucifer's blood. She managed to free herself from his grip and rushed to the front door, watching Lucifer being taken to the ambulance. She seemed to hear vaguely her ex following her closely, speaking to her, uttering incomprehensible words once more in the young woman's ears. She heard nothing but her hysterical heartbeats against her chest, paramedics orders, the ambulance doors closing on her partner. 

"  ** _Chloe!_**  ", Dan screamed, making her jump on the doorstep. 

The latter staring at him, confused, speechless. He approached her gently, on his guards. Like carefully approaching an injured animal. He stopped not far from her, examining her from head to foot, clearly worried about her. He didn't have to worry. She was perfectly fine. Unlike Lucifer. She was the one who should have leaned on this stretcher, clearly not him. 

" You should let them look after your head. ", Dan advised her, pointing at her forehead. 

She raised her hand to her forehead, a brief but painful touch, and stared at her fingers lightly colored with fresh blood without really seeing them. She didn't see the blood. All she saw was this color. This red. 

_Red._

Chloe hardly swallowed, a painful knot suddenly blocking her throat. 

_This red._  

The young woman sharply lowered her hand and ran down the stairs of the doorstep, Dan's dumbstruck look on her. 

" I've got to go...", she said hastily as she opened her car door, Daniel at her heels. 

"  _What?!_ Where? Chloe...! ", he exclaimed, puzzled. 

She closed the car door and started up. 

She needed answers. 

Immediately. 

** ***** **

Chloe knocked the door several times, on edge. 

She waited for this damned door to open while pacing the empty room, the gentle light of the sunrise coming through the open blinds. She could easily have dug a trench in the carpet by frantically pacing on either side of the room. The detective sighed noisily, on edge, pounding on harder against the door. Her knocks leaving red marks on it. She leaned against the doorframe, trembling and on her last nerve. Chloe strongly inhaled, holding back as best as she could the tears that threatened to run at any moment along her cheeks. She knocked the door again, each knock passing on the muscles of her arm. 

She should be here. The detective was quite certain about that. 

She wanted answers. She needed answers. 

A jingling was heard from the other side of the door, which partially opened, revealing Dr. Linda Martin's sincerely surprised face. The latter opened more the door of her office, puzzled. 

" Detective? What-...Oh God! Are you all 'right? ", she exclaimed, horrified at the sight of the blood covering Chloe's clothes. 

" Is it true? ", the latter asked straight away, not paying attention to the therapist's sincere concern. 

Linda stared at her without understanding, opening her mouth of incomprehension. Chloe briefly closed her eyes, trying to put herself together and pronounce this question, or rather this statement that haunted her for a few minutes. 

" He was telling the truth, wasn't he? ", the detective murmured with a trembling voice as the truth hit her head-on, totally filling her body and mind. 

The Dr. Martin, seeming confused at first, seemed at last to understand what she was referring to. This was her answer even before she asked it clearly. They looked in the eye for what seemed an eternity. One of them waiting for a denial from the other. Or an assertion, which seemed so obvious. 

He was telling the truth. All the time. Since they had met. 

And she...she hadn't see anything. 

No. She didn't want to see it. 

Till today. 

Chloe swallowed and pressed the doorframe firmly between her trembling fingers. 

" Lucifer...is the  _Devil_ , is that it? ", she asked in a whisper. 

A question that didn't really need an answer. 

Chloe knew the answer perfectly well. 

The truth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with..." Endlessly "   
> _________________________
> 
> Lucifer...The Devil...   
> Chloe was keeping bringing up these two names for many minutes in Dr. Martin's office. She was wandering back and forth between the table and the sofa with a wild gait. As wild as her heartbeats or the course of her thoughts. She wasn't tired by this constant and possibly annoying movement for any other person. Anyone who wasn't aware, like she was, of the link between these names.   
> Lucifer was the Devil.   
> ________________________  
> Thanks again for reading me :)   
> I'm not sure to publish next week (not Monday at least). I began another story about Game of Thrones and it took me some time to write it and to translate it. Don't worry, I don't forget you!


	15. Endlessly

_The Devil._

What did she really know about the Devil in the end? She knew Lucifer. Or rather...she thought she knew him. 

_The Devil..._

What was the exact meaning of this word? What was its power? On her and on the world? She couldn't reconcile the word, this title with terrifying and almost apocalyptic looks to her partner. 

_Lucifer...The Devil..._

Chloe was keeping bringing up these two names for many minutes in Dr. Martin's office. She was wandering back and forth between the table and the sofa with a wild gait. As wild as her heartbeats or the course of her thoughts. She wasn't tired by this constant and possibly annoying movement for any other person. Anyone who wasn't aware, like she was, of the link between these names. 

Lucifer was the Devil. 

Two words that completely changed her inside. Changing everything and nothing at once. Was it all true then? Everything he could have told her? Absolutely everything? She did her best to remember every word and every demonic hint alluded to Lucifer, trying to...she didn't know. Trying to make sense to this tenacious denial she had had, which had hidden this evidence. 

All this was quite obvious, wasn't it? 

Wasn't it?!

_The Devil._

Everything was getting lost in her mind. The memories. The odd events related to him. His words. His odd reactions. She couldn't calm down her mind. She couldn't calm down this almost paralyzing, noxious panic. Questions were running into painful and noisy observations, beating into her skull like a piercing gong. All this mixed up with a flood of emotions as unmanageable as the rest. 

The young woman continued this uncertain move between the therapist's furniture, rubbing her arms equally nervously. Her body couldn't stop, these repetitive and constant movements being the one and single thing that prevented her to fall into madness. 

How could she rationalize all this?  _How?_  

Could you rationalize the fact that your partner was the... Devil? 

Was it even possible? Humanly possible? 

And how could she have closed her eyes to the truth? 

The blind of the year. Of this century. 

There were signs. Odd coincidences that she hadn't want to see for what they really were. Elements of truth. A simple and unmanageable truth. 

_The Devil._

Why did she realize this only now? While Lucifer was...

Chloe gulped and pressed her fingers - reddened by her partner's blood – around her trembling arms. She continued to walk back and forth, scrutinizing this crimson hue on her epidermis. 

_The Devil._

That same red, although totally different from this one, that had turned everything upside down inside her. 

That red. 

That strange and terrifying fire in Lucifer's irises. Not red. No. Something more intense than that. Something indefinable by simple words. A relentless glowing power into these eyes that she thought knowing by heart. A noxious deflagration in his irises usually so dark, glowing with a thing that she couldn't explain. A spine-chilling thing. Chloe could have found some rational explanations about this vision. She became a master in this art. Rational explanations. It could have been the light of the room, her own wound...

So many rational explanations. 

But not this time.

Chloe could no longer delude herself. You couldn't eclipse this kind of thing when you had it right before you. She couldn't have dreamed up this fleeting vision and yet frozen in time. She could see herself again, lying on the rough floor of the room. With disconcerting clarity. She could see Lucifer not far from her. She could almost distinctly hear again the sounds and smell the scents of the room when she was no longer there. Everything seemed so clear, now. An unbearable clarity. A clarity that imposed a difficult reality. She could see again this brief transformation. This simultaneously subtle and violent change of her partner's face. 

This red. 

The epidermis – as common as hers – being replaced by something else. Something red and wounded. Grazed. Painful by its simple appearance. A skin that wasn't really one. Not a human skin. No. It was something else. Lucifer... His gentle, mocking face...turned into a rough and tortured face. Deeply marked by something she couldn't define. 

This red face...

_The Devil._

Chloe had remembered. She had already seen this. A hazy but equally terrifying reflection in that shut down factory. The night she shot him. The night she had believed...

There was no reflection in this room. No excuse predisposing to total denial of what she had before her. Only the truth. The reality. Her reality. 

_The Devil...Lucifer._

Chloe stopped briefly her restless wander, deeply breathing in and closing her eyes.  She ran her both hands through her hair with a trembling gesture before noisily breathing out the air stored in her lungs. 

She knew what she'd seen. She knew it. And yet...

She didn't know what to think about this. How to take this, how to react, what questions to ask, what answers to look for, how to behave...

This face...These features...This red. 

She could see him again. 

Lucifer, having drawn diabolical features by an unspeakable rage. A rage that seemed to affect everything around him, like a powerful and harmful wave. A disturbing manifestation that had touched Chloe, having goose bumps on every inch of her body, still lying on the ground. She'd seen him, hateful, shifted to his former features just as quickly. His human features. A quick shifting just before rushing to Votwick. Before disappearing from her sight. Taking with him this appalling and fleeting vision. This vision that had stopped her breathing, only gasping for air as soon as Lucifer was out of the room. 

_The Devil._

_Lucifer...The Devil...The..._ _Devil.._ _._

A grating quickly followed by footsteps made the detective suddenly startle, the latter turning swiftly towards the door, her hand clenching her empty holster looking for her gun. Her gun that she'd left there, near this pool of blood. 

Chloe stared at Linda on the doorstep. The latter gently closed the door, trying to give a comforting smile to Chloe. It was comforting, but not comforting enough to ease this incontrollable restlessness inside her. The detective lowered her hand and gulped, tormented. The Dr. Martin stepped softly towards her, with an excessive prudence, but possibly preferable given the actual circumstances, handing her a black sweatshirt. 

" Take this. You're shivering. ", Linda said in a soothing voice. 

Her kindness was touching but...

She couldn't tell if this shivering was really due to the cold. Probably not. The shock of this discovery was much more suspicious. The young woman slowly moved a trembling hand towards the clothing item, taking it gently under the therapist's comforting gaze. The latter walked away to her desk, letting Chloe slowly put on the sweatshirt, covering with it the red marks on her gray V-necked sweater. She felt a little better, this textile envelope partly heated her freezing and tensed body. 

She tried to pull up the zipper, her fingers trembling uncontrollably during this usually basic gesture. Nothing was usual today. 

Nothing at all. 

She quickly pulled the zipper up, then rubbing her palms strewn with dried blood together, watching the therapist going to the shelving unit. Linda moved some imposing volumes about neurosis, seizing the Scotch and two glasses hidden behind this intellectual barrier. Chloe sat down on the couch, still rubbing her hands together. Linda came back to her and handed her a generously filled glass with the alcoholic beverage. 

The detective stared at it, puzzled. She then turned her gray look back to the therapist standing in front of her. 

" Is... Is it...? ", Chloe asked hoarsely, pointing the glass. 

" …. ethical? Not at all. ", the therapist replied. " But the subject we're going to talk about isn't really concerned with the ethical issues brought by my job. And a little tonic is more than welcome! " 

The young woman nodded feebly and took the glass. Linda skirted the coffee table to sit down on her chair, pouring to herself another glass. Chloe turned the glass between her fingers, scrutinizing without really seeing her misshapen reflection on it. A confused reflection. At the edge of the neurotic rupture. Probably. 

She brought the glass to her lips and drank it in one go, a soft burning ruffling the inside of her throat to increase right after. Chloe made herself hoarse, coughing hard while squeezing the empty glass in her hand. She felt a gentle heat warm the inside of her belly and ruffle her cheekbones. A heat gradually dispelling the thick fog that paralyzed her thoughts for a while. 

Was that a good thing? 

Yes. Probably. 

She was here to get answers. Clarifications. 

" Are you feeling better? ", Linda inquired. 

Better. 

Did she feel better? What meant "better"? No longer want to laugh stupidly like an idiot about this situation? Or the contrary? Was it better to be fully aware of the situation? 

Chloe stroke gently the glass between her hands, a slight smile on her lips. 

" I've just discovered the Devil's existence.... I don't think feeling better, Dr. ", she murmured, her grey eyes looking at the glass. 

" I understand, Chloe. ", said the latter. " I was as shocked as you are when I figured it out, if not more than you! "

A silence settled between the two women. Silence that Chloe wasn't sure she wanted to break. Not immediately. She needed to put her thoughts in order. 

How could she approach this? Where should she begin? 

" How did you know  _I knew?_  ", the therapist asked suddenly, curious. 

How, indeed. Chloe sighed as she moved back on the couch, resting her back against its hard and uncomfortable surface. She pulled a few locks of hair behind her left ear before explaining, quite hesitant: 

" He... He... L-Lucifer told me. He told me that he had opened up to you and that you'd been scared. He thought he'd broke you. So, I-I... have concluded that you..." 

"...That I saw who he really was? Oh yes, I surely did! ", Linda helped her. 

The detective nodded with this confirmation. Confirmation that she'd previously had, when she saw the therapist's mysterious look. This look linked to this reality. 

Lucifer. The Devil. Her partner...

" Why did you come here, Chloe? ", Linda asked her in her soft, affable voice, her hands on her knees as she was watching kindly the young woman sit in front of her. 

Why. Why...

She could no longer tell why. She felt lost. Bewildered. She didn't know what holding on to accept this information, this Dantesque revelation. Why had she come here, more precisely? Lucifer was the Devil. If he told her the truth, then...Mazikeen...

Mazikeen was.... a demon. 

Chloe's roommate was a demon. 

The detective sighed loudly, leaning her elbows against her knees and placing her hands around her face. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them, stroking her chin with the back of her hand. 

" I-I didn't know who to turn to...", she confessed gently, looking at the window. " Maze is...she's too much involved to...Dan doesn't know anything. I needed you to...to...", she stammered, trying to clear the mess in her mind. 

"… to give free rein to your fear? ", tried the therapist. 

Chloe sat up on the couch, staring at the latter. 

_Fear?_

What fear? 

" Fear? No, no! I'm not scared of...of Lucifer! ", she replied vehemently. 

It was true. 

Chloe was the first surprised. She wasn't afraid of him. No. Not because he was the Devil. It disturbed her, clearly but...She wasn't scared of him. She knew that. This truth imposed itself in her mind and body. A truth as unshakeable as her love for her little girl. 

She wasn't afraid. 

No. 

Fear didn't dominate her senses right now. It was an entirely different emotion inside her. A consuming heat, fiercer than the alcohol previously drunk. 

She wasn't scared. 

She was angry. 

She was mad at Lucifer. 

" I... I need to understand. ", explained Chloe in a breath, her fingers clenching her knees as she felt the anger invaded her body. " Why...Why did he lie to me all this time?! ", she blew up, almost screaming in the quiet space offered by Linda's office.  ** _" Why?! "_**

Chloe no longer managed to curb the rage which vibrated in her, which was reflected in each of her gestures, each of her looks. She didn't want to contain it. 

He'd lied to her. He who'd promised...

**_" I have never lied to you... and I will never lie to you. "_ **

She believed him. She trusted him. 

And he...He hid this information?!  How could he...?!

  _Why?_  

This question screamed through each pore, through each of her meninges. The young woman stood up and paced again under Linda's compassionate look, the latter following her with her eyes. 

" Chloe...", the therapist called her. 

The latter stopped, running her restless hand through her blond hair down. She gulped, still struggling with this ardent rage, turning to her friend. Linda gave her another comforting smile before asking gently: 

" Do you truly believe he'd lied to you all this time? " 

The detective opened her mouth, convinced of her partner's lies, but...She closed her mouth quickly, thinking. This simple question stirred inside her many memories, many talks shared with Lucifer. 

**_" Well, I've given you the answers, Detective. It's not my fault if you don't accept it. "_ **

**_"I am the Devil! Historically_ _invincible_ _, until now... "_ **

" I... No. ", she finally said, crossing her arms against her chest. " No. He never lied about it. He always proclaimed it loudly, but..." 

But...

He didn't lie. Not entirely. Saying was one things. Really insufficient in this situation. Completely useless. He knew that. And yet...He should...He could have...

" He could have shown me! ", exclaimed the detective, seizing between her fingers the fabric covering her crossed arms. " He  ** _should_**  have shown me! "

Linda nodded, sympathetic. 

" Yes. ", she said in turn as Chloe sat back on the couch. " He should have shown you who he really was...Why didn't he do it, to your mind? "

Why? 

Again and again this tortuous question. 

Chloe wanted to know why. She wanted to understand. To forgive Lucifer for this disguised lie. For this dishonesty, this betrayal. 

Why had he not gone beyond his flights of fancy? Hadn't he been upset when she took his identity lightly? She would have been in his place. 

Then...why? 

**_" All of Humanity's sins_ _are_ _the Devil's fault,_ _right?_ _I mean, I thought you were different, but I was wrong..."_ **

**_" You don't know a thing about who I am, Detective...or what I've done! "_ **

**_" Being me seems to be a problem, doesn't it? Everywhere I go, someone gets hurt..."_ **

Chloe raised her head, leaning her elbows against her knees. She didn't need to answer this question. Because she already knew the answer. Since always. It seemed so obvious, so forgivable. She shook her head, flustered by her stupidity. 

" He was afraid, wasn't he? ", she barely whispered without looking at Linda, dismayed. 

He was afraid. 

Afraid that she rejects him by seeing the truth for what she was. By seeing who he really was. As everyone did so far. 

Lucifer was afraid. 

How couldn't she understand that? 

Her rage faded away to welcome sadness. All this saddened her. Because Lucifer's fear revealed something quite different. Something that hurt her much more than she could guess. 

" He doesn't trust me enough to...", began the detective, her voice choking by emotion.

He didn't believe enough in her, in them to tell her the all truth. Chloe thought she had earned his trust. It appeared she hadn't. He didn't trust her. She could understand his mistrust. Partly. Another part of her was hurt by this behavior. Wasn't she worthy of his trust? After all they've been through? Were all these moments together so meaningless? As well as their relationship? 

" Would you have trusted him if the situation was reversed? ", asked Linda. " He was cast out from Heaven for showing who he really was, who he wanted to be: someone  _free_. For millennia, he lived in a place where trust and affection couldn't exist. All his siblings, his entire family rejected him, they betrayed his trust..." 

Dr. Martin made a point. Chloe didn't see things from this angle. And Lucifer's words hit her more clearly at that moment. How trust anyone after all these ordeals and rejection? 

" Don't take his mistrust as a flaw in your relationship, Chloe. ", the therapist continued, gently smiling at her. " He has changed. Deeply...Thanks to you. " 

" Me? ", the detective was astonished, frowning with confusion. 

Linda nodded. 

" He learns to open up to others. Thanks to you. ", she said once again. " You said that Lucifer should have shown you his true face, but...I think he already has...for quite a long time. He may be the  _Devil_ , this is not who he really is. All the others have only seen this part of him. Everyone except you, Chloe. You're the only one to whom he has shown his  _"real him "_ : Lucifer Morningstar. "

_Lucifer._

The therapist's words clarified Chloe's confused thoughts. She was right. Chloe didn't need Lucifer showing her anything. She had already seen him. She saw him for who he really was. And it was surely for this precise reason that he'd hesitated to reveal this part of him. 

Who wouldn't have hesitated? 

It was understandable. It was human. 

_Human._

Lucifer was far more human than Devil. Doubtless. 

Yes. 

Chloe understood now. 

She stood up, unflinching and walked toward the door, Linda standing up too. 

" Where are you going? ", asked the latter, following the detective closely as the latter the handle. 

" To the hospital...Checking in with my partner. ", Chloe simply answered, her voice rid of this restless that had possessed her for a few minutes. 

Linda smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder before asking: 

" Keep me posted. "  

Chloe nodded and gently turned the handle, the door partially opened on the wilderness corridor. She stopped, pensive before turning to the therapist, who gave her a questioning look. Chloe still had a request to make. An important one. 

" Could you keep this conversation for yourself? ", she asked. 

" Why? "

" I... I don't want him to know.  if I have to learn the truth, I want to learn it from him. When he'll trust him enough for this... ", murmured Chloe, watching for the therapist's consent. 

An essential consent. She didn't want to force Lucifer to tell her the truth. Linda stared at the detective's face before smiling softly and accepting with a brief nod. Chloe smiled at her in turn, relieved. She opened more the door of the office and took Linda's hand in hers, expressing her gratitude. 

" Thank you. "

" Go...You've both lost enough time! ", Linda teased her, her smiling widening more. 

Chloe nodded in turn and walked away from the therapist, leaving her office with a quick step. Leaving her fears and uncertainties in this room. 

One single thing was worrying her right now: Lucifer's state of health. 

 

** ***** **

 

Chloe opened her eyes, only seeing a soft, silent darkness. She awkwardly sat up on her seat, looking around her to work out where she was. A regular beep teased her ears not far from her. An annoying and yet comforting beep. A noise that confirmed her partner's state of health. 

The young woman rubbed her half-opened eyes with the back of her hand, trying to get rid of the opaque fog that was seizing her body and her exhausted brain. She turned her face towards the window covered by the blinds at this late hour, the feeble morning light nevertheless passed through this barrier, gently ruffling Lucifer's quiet face. 

She probably dozed off. She wasn't surprised. She stayed by his side for hours. An entire day had passed since the incident inside the dilapidated house. Since that intense fear as the sight of her injured partner. 

Since this understanding.

Chloe gently stretched her sore shoulders, moaning feebly as the muscles of her back pricked with each movement. A bed would have been welcome, but...no way she left his side. She'd stayed here as long as she had to. Day and night. A decision that was far from pleasing her former companion.  As well as her hasty departure from the crime scene. She had had to apologize more times than she could actually count since she'd arrived to the emergency. 

But...

How could she explain to him this hasty departure? It was impossible. A sustained argument was a low price to pay to preserve Lucifer's secret. 

It was nothing. 

She stopped looking at the window to look at Lucifer. She looked at him all the time. She scrutinized him for hours, watching each breath, each movement. Scrutinizing endlessly this man, this angel lying in front of her. 

Lucifer was an angel. 

Formerly angel, of course. But she couldn't see him as a treacherous and manipulative devil. Quite simply because he wasn't this person. Even before she became aware of his  _diabolical_  side, she had never seen in him this evil being that he continually boasted to be. 

**_" Why are you so surprised,_ _Detective_ _?!_ _I'm the Devil,_ _remember_ _?_ _I'm evil! "_ **

No. Lucifer...Evil. 

Two words that really didn't mix together in her mind. And that never will. He had quick temper, he was stubborn, capricious, of course. But none of this meant "incarnate evil". How could an evil man so much seek justice in the world? 

No. 

Linda was right. 

She'd always had before her the real Lucifer. 

Chloe smiled softly and approached her hand from Lucifer's face, stroking his stubble with her fingertips. She pressed her head against the metallic structure of the bed while playing with his black curls. She looked at his face, his peaceful features, his pale skin, his hands on his chest bandaged under his hospital gown. She marked this vision in her mind, comforting this visceral fear of losing him. 

She couldn't lose him. 

Never. 

Chloe refused to give up on him. On them. 

And she didn't want to confront him with the truth. What was the point in telling him? She would force him to trust her. And she didn't want such a thing. She could wait, as long as it was necessary. As long as he needed. It had to come from him. Just him. 

Nobody would know she knew. It was quite ironic, in retrospect. She'd be surrounded by demons and angels trying to hide the truth from her when she already knew it. 

The next few days were going to be very interesting. 

A slight groan crossed Lucifer's lips, Chloe sitting up quickly as she heard this noise. She stopped stroking his black curls to seize his hand, to make him aware of her presence near him. He didn't move for a few seconds, Chloe persuading herself to have dreamed, until he frowned slightly. A reflex that made the young woman smile.

 Even barely conscious, he found a way to complain...

This fleeting frown was quickly followed by an embrace around her own hand, Chloe feeling Lucifer's fingers stroking her epidermis. She waited, watching his dark irises that missed her so much. He frowned more, gently turning his head to one side and clenching more the detective's hand. Clenching more this hope., this heat that gently rose in Chloe's chest. 

Slowly, he opened his eyes, his confused onyx irises meeting her gaze. Chloe clenched his hand in turn in hers, bringing her face closer to his, a soft smile rising on her lips. 

" Hi...", she said in a whisper. 

She would wait. 

Endlessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with " Better late than never "
> 
> Thanks to read this story :)   
> Next chapter as soon as possible.


	16. Better late than never

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello !   
> Yeah, I translated the next chapter. Don't ask me why so fast. It just like this. I didn't want to write in French so...translation! ^^  
> Thanks for the many comments so far!   
> Enjoy this new chapter with Lucifer/ Chloe special talk!

**_" Don't you dare to die, Lucifer Morningstar...I forbid you ! "_ **

_Die._

Dying. 

Was he...was he dying? 

Why...Why shouldn't he die? 

This ban on dying shouting strongly in him seemed  _bizarre_. It was ridiculous. He was the devil. Immortal. Death didn't affect him, didn't it?  Not at all. 

So... What the hell was going on? 

Where was he?

He didn't recognize anything. There was nothing recognizable around him. Wherever he was. Everything was  _dark_. Undefined. It was the first time he was discovering this kind of phenomenon. Being conscious and yet unable to taking back control. 

What had happened to him? 

He didn't remember. 

Not really. 

Fragments, scattered visions constantly taunted him without answering his many unbearable questions. 

He had to remember. He had to. 

A house. 

Gunshots. 

Fear. 

Chloe. 

**_Chloe..._ **

A name resounding strongly in his mind. 

Chloe. 

Where was she? 

This _darkness_ that surrounded him until now, that numbed his senses for an eternity according to him, began slowly to weaken. Like a hideous monster retracting its vile tentacles and thus freeing him from its horrible embrace. Retracting with itself this lack of sensations, of perception. 

Retracting this lack of pain. 

Pain. 

Discomfort. 

That was all he felt from now on. An unbearable heaviness insidiously forcing itself on every fiber of his body or mind. Physical pain spreading into his flesh and blood. This pain that screamed savagely in his ears like a repetitive cacophony. 

Was it even possible? 

No. Pain didn't do this. He wasn't used to it, but piercing screams were certainly not due to this horrible pain in his body. 

So...  _What_ _the hell was this?!_

Using his entire will, his eyelids slowly opened – closing quickly first to immediately repeat this movement -, freeing his eyes from this intolerable darkness. 

Light. 

A shrill light. Artificial light. 

And still that noise. A strong noise, to which was added whispers. Unclear whispers quickly increasing. He watched the hazy light above him, confused. Everything was hazy, both his mind and the world around him. He couldn't move, he could only watch this shrill and hazy light. A light he didn't give a fuck about. 

Chloe. 

He... he had to know. 

Where was she? Where was Chloe? 

A shadow hid this bloody light. A shadow equally hazy, but oddly looking like a human form. He blinked, his eyelids as heavy as lead threatening every second to take advantage on his wavering will. He opened his eyes again, distraught, the shadow looking more human now. 

A man. 

Who was he? What was he doing here? What did he want? 

A bright light irritated his eyes and quickly disappeared. Fortunately. Whispers taunted once again his ears. 

Were they  _voices?_

_"..._ _ir_ _? Sir?_ _Yo_ _-_ _….hear_ _me? "_

He didn't understand. The man, still near him, seemed talking to him. He could see his mouth making words. But no sound came to him distinctly, only intermittently. Fragments of coherent sentences. Sometimes whispered through a solid barrier, sometimes screamed at his ears, making him quiver. 

He focused his wavering attention on the man. Maybe he knew where the detective was. He had to know. He needed to know if she was okay. He wanted to talk to him, ask or just pronounce some words. 

He couldn't. 

His lips were sealed by this constant pain inside him. He felt something soft around his mouth. Something laminated that also prevented him from speaking. 

The pain radiated further from his body, scratching furiously his abdomen. 

_What_ _now_ _?_

The man near him became suddenly agitated, shouting unclear imprecations to someone else behind him. 

_" Damn I-….! Help_ _me_ _!_ _I'm_ _losi_ _-...him! "_

Pain was now numbing each of his senses. Each cell. Winding slyly around his heart, the latter beating furiously against his ribcage. He was burning under its merciless touch. Every inch of his body and mind...got burned without being able to do anything against it. 

He couldn't breathe. Each inhaling more painful and more laborious than the previous one. 

What the hell was happening to him? 

Was it death? 

The shrill light faded above him. Everything darkened again, devouring in this blackness every sound, every sensation, every thought. 

Whatever. 

He didn't care. 

All he wanted...was Chloe. 

 

** ***** **

 

Another light. 

Again. 

Why was it moving so fast above him? It was moving, turning the artificial light into a strong bright line passing before his eyes. 

Was it a _hallucination_  or something? 

Was he going mad? Could the devil go mad? Some would say beyond any doubt that it was already the case. 

Maybe. 

His eyes were burning by the simple effort of remaining open. Everything was burning inside him. An all-consuming inferno. Ravaging. Everything in him was only suffering. 

New shadows surrounded him, overlooking him beyond this odd light. People, probably. But who exactly? 

Chloe? 

He started a gesture, trying in vain to raise his head. Trying to move. Trying to find Chloe in this bloody fog. He barely managed to raise his head, which immediately felt back against something soft and comfortable. An inefficient comfort against the searing pain that burned each of his muscles. A pain much too strong to be silenced by anything. 

This pain increased inside his abdomen, forcing him to close his eyes briefly to contain it, to stand against it. 

Why was he suffering so much? 

He wanted it to stop. 

Pressing voices flied all around him, voices coming from these disturbing shadows seen before. 

_" H-...lost a l-...of blood! "_

_" He nee-_ _….surgery_ _! Now! "_

_" Lucifer! Luc-…! Hold o-…! You'll be okay! "_

Was he dreaming? 

Was it really Daniel's voice? What was he doing here – whatever that "here" was? He opened his eyes again, wincing under the throbbing pain in his abdomen. The detective  _Douche_ was right here, walking hurriedly at his side, looking at him with concern. 

Was he worried about him? 

Why? 

Had he succumbed to his devilish charms? No surprise here, but he wasn't truly interested by this absolute dumbass. 

One single person was constantly occupying his mind. 

Chloe. 

He looked around, seeing only people wearing white clothes near the douche. The detective wasn't here. Where the hell was she? Was she hurt? 

His heart raged at this basic hypothesis, increasing the painful vibrations in his body. He looked desperately at Daniel, trying in vain to grab his arm. The latter gently pressed his wrist into an embrace that wanted to be reassuring. 

_" You'll be okay, Lucifer. "_

The world around him became more and more blurry again. 

Did Daniel not understand? He didn't give a damn about all this! 

All that mattered was Chloe. 

** ***** **

Everything was  _soft_. 

Comfortable. 

Was he finally dead? 

Lucifer couldn't tell if he was or not. Experiencing death was a mainly human luxury. What he wasn't at all: human. No, death certainly didn't look like this. It was too  _nice._ Too peaceful. 

Where was he? And... why? 

Always these two questions. Always this lack of concrete answers. 

He tried to focus on his sensations. To focus on what surrounded him. Perhaps he'd find answers by doing so, something to go on about what was happening to him. He struggled for a moment – or longer than that, he couldn't tell either – against this thick fog which numbed his brain, effectively preventing him from coming back to reality. It was a bloody uncomfortable sensation. Thinking and yet unable to do more than that. As if he was trapped in his own body with only his exhausted mind hindered by this heavy torpor. 

A new human trial, obviously. That he didn't really want to reiterate in the future, this state representing many inconveniences right now. Like the exact notion of time, for instance. Lucifer might have had the feeling that one second or even one minute had just passed, but...This enclosed and unknown space didn't seem interested by that temporal data. 

Minutes could turn into hours, or even into days. How could he know?

After an undefinable time by himself, Lucifer sensed at last some sensations. A fabric under him. His own breathing. Regular. Painless. This persistent but tolerable tingling at the level of his abdomen. 

And something soft against his cheek. 

Something which calmed all his aches, all his fears without he could explain it.

 What was this? 

It was  _warm_ against his epidermis, giving him this heat. Warming his cheek and the rest of his senses so easily. He didn't want to let go this comforting touch. Not in the least. This soft heat faded, Lucifer perceiving a slight movement by his sides as a new touch came at the level of his skull. 

It was someone. A person. He was almost certain, now. Someone was gently stroking his black hair, thus unknotting each knot of tension and discomfort inside him. 

Who could it be? 

Certainly not the detective  _douche_ _!_ He sincerely hoped it wasn't him. What better than an idiot stroking gently your hair to make you disgusted with male sex romance. This simple idea – simple but horrifying – had soon awakened the rest of his body. Lucifer frowned imperceptibly as he regained consciousness, a slight groan crossing his lips. The touch stopped almost immediately, increasing more his confusion. He felt a new touch against his palm. 

A hand. 

Fine. Soft. Familiar. Heady. Essential. 

_Her_  hand. 

Chloe. 

It was her. He was convinced of it. 

He felt Chloe clasp his hand, stroking gently his epidermis with her thumb. He frowned more, struggling strongly against his eyelids whose weight seemed to rival that of an elephant. He clasped her hand gently, her thin fingers, stroking this palm in his own too. He managed to move his head imperceptibly from a few inches, a basic movement which left him totally exhausted anyway before even being able to open his eyes. 

What he finally did. 

Everything was dark around him. Definitely less gloomy than that odd space where his mind had long lost its way, Lucifer partially seeing the rigid and metallic edges of the bed in which he was apparently lying. His vision gradually cleared up, the space and the objects becoming clearer all around him. He remained for a moment like this, staring at the colorless ceiling of the room, confused, instinctively clasping this hand in his. He blinked several times, his blurred eyes still staring at the awful ceiling which wasn't a good indicator about his actual situation. 

Lucifer still couldn't put concrete information on what had happened to him or where he actually was. 

A bed, obviously...highly uncomfortable, by the way. Yeah, but still? 

At least, it was now certain that he wasn't at Lux. That kind of bed was totally forbidden in his penthouse. Unless we wanted to literally burn in Hell. What he could arrange very easily, of course. 

He slowly turned his head to the left, staring openly at the detective's face. She smiled at him. A bright, soft smile. A smile that provoked various odd physical sensations in him. Palpitations, to quote one among all the others. His heart beat violently inside his chest, a pleasant heat seeming to radiate all around the vital organ. He watched without saying a word, scrutinizing her thin features yet betraying a deep exhaustion. She seemed as exhausted as he was, which was not the least. His heart missed a beat when he saw a bandage at the level of her temple, fear clasping his chest this time. A fear crowned with undefined memories. 

He remembered the dilapidated house where the suspect was supposed to live. The gunshots, his visceral fear for her. 

Votwick. 

Their savage struggle finished by a quite blood-red end. Chloe kneeling beside him. Her eyes widened with horror. 

He, apologizing for...

The rest of the events eluded him completely. And it was probably for the best. 

Lucifer watched the detective slowly approached her face from his, a truly pleasant approach despite his actual confusion. 

" Hi...", she whispered tenderly. 

He scrutinized her again for a moment before swallowing, his dry and painful throat coming back on his mind. 

" Hi...", he said hoarsely in turn. " Where a-…? "

" You're in the hospital. ", she told him, easily guessing his question. " You've been passed out for more than a day. " 

A day. 

That was new. Really new. And to not repeat in the future. Never again. Every movement, every breath, awakened inside him a tolerable discomfort, but yet quite annoying. He felt as if his entire body had been beaten up. Talking also caused a deep fatigue. Being mortal was bloody inconvenient at that precise moment. Lucifer closed his eyes briefly, exhausted by this common talk. He opened them again and gave a faint smile. 

" Well....I guess I can now add this to my long list of human experiences. Test the hospital and its vile beds:  _check!_ ", he joked. 

Chloe laughed softly at his witticism, but became quickly silent, her face showing a worried expression. She lowered her head, stroking absent-mindedly Lucifer's hand in hers with her thumb. A touch that neither of them seemed able or willing to break. He stared at their embraced hands – a vital embrace -, clasping the young woman's palm in his. They didn't say a word for a few seconds, the silence around only disturbed by some indistinct noises or talks in the corridor. Chloe raised her heard, looking him in the eye. Lucifer scrutinized her eyes filled with intense and almost painful emotion. 

What could she have in mind? 

Why did she look so  _overwhelmed_? Had he done something wrong? 

Here he was with his delirious interrogation when the detective revealed in a breath, her lips slightly trembling: 

" I was afraid. " 

Afraid? Afraid of what? 

What was she talking about? Was she referring to his state of health? 

Maybe. 

He gulped, feeling uncomfortable and quite confused by the actual situation. 

" I'm... _sorry ?_  ", he tried, distraught. 

This clumsy apology made her smile. The detective gently shook her head under her partner's confused look. Was he all wrong again? In his defense, human interactions were quite new to him.  And everything that concerned her near or far pretty much increased his initial confusion. Let's just say that he was totally lost as to the appropriate behavior to have right now. The last events had proved it. In a tragic way. 

Chloe lowered her eyes on their embraced hands for a moment, her features twitching slightly before she looked him in the eye again. These eyes blurred by a growing emotion. An undefinable emotion. She wasn't referring to his state of health or to his unfortunate and  _sharp_  meeting with a knife. He was sure of it. 

" I'd be to one who should apologize. I'm so sorry, Lucifer. ", she said. " For everything. I-...I do not regret what happened between us. It was..." 

Chloe stopped talking for a moment, looking for words under Lucifer's intense look. She stroked his hand with her thumb, pensive before continuing: 

" I was afraid Lucifer. I was afraid that I could be another conquest among so many others for you. It was stupid, I can see it now. I-…. I didn't answer your question that morning...", she said suddenly. " I left because I was afraid of what this night could mean. Because I didn't want to be hurt if you rejected me or treated me like any other woman. I'm sorry. " 

Lucifer watched the young women lowering her head once more, her gray eyes obstinately looking at their hands clasped for an eternity, according to him. She almost refused to face him again after this confession. This admission. This free access to her own vulnerability. Each word, every sentence echoed in him, vibrating and causing strong emotions hardly manageable. 

He felt  _relieved_. And anxious. 

He stopped staring at the detective, turning his face towards the ceiling as an uncontrollable laugh crossed his lips. The young woman finally raised her head, stunned and clearly torn between annoyance and consternation about his reaction. Lucifer coughed gently, a fleeting pain irritating his abdominal muscles after his giggles. He shook his head in turn, a bright smile on his face. 

" All that fuss for nothing...", he whispered before turning his face towards hers. 

Chloe was staring at him intently, her partner easily guessing her desire to punch him under her falsely serene features. 

" What a wonderful misunderstanding, Detective...Really! ", he exclaimed, leaning on his forearm to straighten towards her despite the pain in his abdomen. " I mean, you clearly could have avoided to vanish like this! We both could have saved our time by directly sharing your fears with me! Which are totally unfounded, I can assure you. The devil never lies...And I do not lie to you by telling you that you – Chloe Jane Decker – you are not comparable to any other woman on Earth. I do not lie to you by saying that this night was oddly unrivalled. I do not lie to you by sa-…" 

His tirade was promptly and deliciously interrupted by his partner's heady lips on his. The words died inside his throat, his heart missing another beat. 

Did he have a heart condition or something? 

Maybe. 

All coherent thoughts or salacious remarks were swept away from his mind as he savored Chloe's lips. That kiss, tender at first, became much more eager. The young woman deepened the kiss, their breath stirring together as Lucifer gladly responded to her ardor. 

He didn't bloody understand this. 

He had kissed so many women and men. Nothing...no, nothing was comparable to this. That kiss was  _indefinable_. Way beyond terrestrial definitions. Every touch, every embrace drove him mad. Both his mind and his body. A consuming and delightful heat overwhelmed every each of his anatomy as he intensely kissed the detective. With the same passion that lead her.  

It was insane. Ecstatically insane. 

A madness from which he didn't want to get rid of anymore. 

They moved away from each other, breathless. Lucifer closed his eyes, panting and disoriented by the emotions and sensations previously felt during that kiss. They exchanged a knowing look, both smiling instinctively. 

" Are you trying to kill me, Detective? Because it's certainly the best way to die for me...", he whispered hoarsely, exhausted. 

She smiled more at this accusation against her, clasping his hand in hers while her other hand stroked tenderly her partner's cheek. The latter could feel his forearm tremble more and more strongly under his own weight and the fatigue causing by his condition and that delightful talk. Chloe noticed it and shifter her hand to his shoulder, enjoining him with a feeble – but insistent – pressure to lay down. He obeyed, more by exhaustion than by real docility. 

" I think you can call me by my first name now, Lucifer. ", she noticed with a knowing smile, her cheeks still blushed by their previous  _talk_.

His eyelids were covering his eyes slyly as the seconds passed, Lucifer being unable to fight back against their tenacious heaviness. He nodded vaguely, exhausted, his body relaxing gradually against his will. He gave her a faint smile as he felt the detective's hand playing with his black curls. He struggled against this strong somnolence that gripped his mind, murmuring in a breath before giving up against it: 

" Better late than never... _Chloe._  "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with...." So cool "
> 
> I don't know when yet. Sorry ^^'   
> As soon as possible, I promise!


	17. So cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for the comments for the last chapter! I'm always truly happy to read each of them!   
> Here is the new translated chapter. I hope you'll like it as the others.   
> Happy reading!

" No. "

" _But Chloe-…_ " 

"  ** _No_** , Lucifer! ", the latter said again, quickly going down the main stairs of the precinct. " Do not count on me for that! "

The detective gripped somehow the few heavy files against her chest with an uncertain hand as she held her phone against her left ear, being – literally speaking – only half-listening Lucifer's childish complaints. She heard the latter sigh strongly on the other end as she made her way through the crush that seemingly had seized the place. The police department had succeeded in neutralizing an important drugs cartel south of the town, a risky and victorious arrest that had provoked a mountain of paperwork for the fit and available detectives in the late afternoon. A stack of work thus increasing by four the number of people present in such a small place. Chloe could barely hear Lucifer's protest with this constant brouhaha around her. 

_" I don't understand what's bothering you in there! "_ , protested the latter, puzzled. 

" Well...Surely not because you're asking me to threaten your doctor with my gun purely to getting out of the hospital faster! ", replied the young woman, putting a file on a colleague's desk. 

_" What's the bloody point of having_ _a gun if you don't even share it with others? ",_  he complained. 

" My badge and my service gun are used to make reign order and justice in town, Lucifer. I punish the bad guys. I'm pretty sure you're quite enjoying this noble duty! And there's no crime or bad guy to punish here! ", Chloe explained as calmly as possible as she was heading for her own desk with hurried steps. 

She dropped off higgledy-piggledy the few files still in her hands near her computer and opened one of the drawers of her desk, rummaging through the various classified files inside. Focusing in this constant brouhaha and with her particularly capricious partner on the end of the line was no easy task, Chloe had to admit it. She rummaged through the files in the drawer with one hand, more and more annoyed while Lucifer tirelessly repeated his excessive complaints about his actual condition. 

_" Well, I can't say that's surprised me, Love, given_ _your_ _advanced age... Humanity has its limitations! "_ , said the latter in a sorry tone before continuing:  _" I can assure you that there was a horrible crime here! Clothing and dietary torture that I certainly wouldn't apply myself in Hell, sequestration -…! "_

Chloe made a face at the unflattering allusion about her age, but didn't reply. She snapped the drawer to close it and consulted some digital files on her computer while interrupting her partner in an extremely serious tone: 

" Lucifer...Why didn't you tell me before? It's...It's revolting! Hang on, I-...I'll gather units and I'll get you out of there! " 

_" Really? "_ , he exclaimed on the other end, his voice tinged with a shade of hope and naivety. 

A shade quickly blurred by the silence of the young woman, muzzling her partner's ridiculous hopes by her extended silence on the line. Chloe typed on her keypad with her right hand while vaguely greeting with a nod some colleagues greeting her too in the middle of the precinct. Another sigh resounded in her ear as she quickly noted some of the information given by her computer on the first file of the stack previously placed on her desk. 

_" I_ _see..._ _"_ , Lucifer mumbled, apparently disappointed.  _" You know,_ _it's_ _quite risky to make fun of the devil, Chloe! Many roasted in_ _Hell_ _for less than that! "_

_"_ Maybe, but considering that I do not believe at all your devilish mythomania, I don't think that my life is in real danger with you...except with your phone stalking! ", the detective replied. 

Chloe had answered without thinking. An automatic answer. Conventional and quite usual between them. A former truth. A truth freed by the last events. A truth that had turned into a lie. 

A former truth. A whole new lie. 

Lying so openly to Lucifer was bothering her. She hated lying to him. But she'd hate more than anything to force him to reveal his real identity. She didn't want to rush him. Nor lie to him. Lying was perhaps a word too strong, too blameworthy for their own situation. Chloe rather saw herself like a kind of  _guardian_. 

She was the guardian of her angel. She preserved his secret. She protected him. 

It wasn't a bad thing to protect someone we cared of, was it? 

She didn't want to risk frightening Lucifer by telling him what she knew when he was clearly not ready to share this with her. This gray area about him that he didn't want to bring to light. 

It was understandable. 

No. 

Chloe wanted to play it safe. She didn't want to lose him. 

However, this new clarification led to a constant torrent of questions for the latter. Questions that tirelessly blocked her mind and caused highly uncomfortable migraine. Questions she couldn't ask him. 

Not now. Not yet. 

In retrospect, all this situation was almost ironic. 

She couldn't talk with him about this  _devilish-_ _angelic_  background quite new for her because he didn't know himself that she knew the entire truth from now on. Complete switch roles. Lucifer being the one – the devil – kept in total ignorance and Chloe being the detective keeping an important secret that she couldn't reveal to anyone. Not even to the people mainly concerned by this, this circle including of course her partner and boyfriend, but Mazikeen too. 

And what about Amenadiel? 

Had he not always introduced himself as Lucifer's elder brother? It appeared he was also an angel, then. 

Angels. Demons. Heaven. Hell.

How could she even think calmly about this? How could she really understand this supernatural background in a rational way? She couldn't. How could she have? 

Throughout her entire life, Chloe had thought being the only to decide, to choose without any divine influence. Was she even influenced right now? Where was the limit between the destiny and her own free will? 

She couldn't face, separate fact and fiction all by herself. Not alone, no...

She needed him to understand. 

Chloe needed Lucifer. 

The latter sighed one more time exaggeratedly, muttering: 

_" I'm tired of being bed-ridden all day long! A bed is usually much more diverting than that! Speaking of...When are you-…? ",_  he said smoothly. 

" Lucifer! You were stabbed just three days ago! How could you even think-…?! ", whispered Chloe as discreetly as possible as two of her colleagues walked near her desk. 

They watched her, quite intrigued, squirming on her seat while putting the phone closer to her ear, trying – by all these odd movements – to escape from any insistent and rather embarrassing visual analysis in her direction. Talking about private stuff on the phone and being so much  _exposed_ didn't please her. Sharing openly her privacy with her colleagues wasn't a good idea. Not in the least. Chloe straightened up and walked away from her desk to the kitchen of the precinct, which had no inappropriate and indiscreet ear. 

_" I am the D_ _evil! "_ , he explained simply, his identity seemingly being an obvious and quite acceptable excuse to his carnal desires. _" I keep telling you that I have a tough supernatural metabolism! I'm perfectly capable of-…"_

" Sure...Too bad this knife didn't feel at all concerned by this tiny detail! ", she mocked him as she rummaged the shelves with one hand in search of a clean cup. 

_" Maybe it was some kind of_ _supernatural weapon left on Earth by this_ ** _M_** _ost-_ ** _H_** _igh_ ** _A_** _sshole to-…",_  tried her partner, imperturbable. 

The detective put the white cup on the edge of the sink, shaking her head gently by hearing Lucifer's nonsenses said with such conviction. She took a quick look at her watch. It was late. Too late to get Trixie at school. Dan wasn't free either. She was going to have to ask Mazikeen's help. Chloe quickly interrupted her partner, in a rush and in a hurry to finish this horrible paperwork abandoned on her desk that seemed to taunt her from here: 

" Lucifer, I'd truly loved to discuss with you the possible existence of supernatural weapons capable of graze your diabolical skin, but there's a stack of paperwork waiting for me and I still have to convince Maze to go get Trixie after school! "

_" Well_ _, g_ _ood luck with that! Deal with a child without risking the decline of your mental health is a real feat! I'm not sure_ _Mazikeen_ _wants to take up this challenge, though. "_

_"_ Oh, I don't know...She did well with you, didn't she? ", Chloe replied, a sneering smile almost immediately sticking on her lips. 

She heard Lucifer becoming agitated and shouting over the line, her smile widening more with his predictable and rather delectable reaction. 

_" I am certainly not like tho_ _se awful little creatures! ",_  her partner took offense, outraged by this horrible childish parallel. 

" Mmmh...I wouldn't say that. Look, I really have to go...I'll see you later, okay? Bye! ", she interrupted him before hanging up just as promptly. 

She stood before the sink for a moment, her phone pressed against her lips as a bright smile took possession of them. She couldn't help smiling. It was almost  _instinctive_. She wanted to smile, to laugh...Endlessly. Their talk should have annoyed her, especially with time lost, but she wasn't. It was quite the contrary. Chloe felt  _light_. 

She was happy. 

All this was so new, forgotten since a long time. 

It was magic. 

" I don't know who this guy is, but...he seems to make you happy. ", noticed a familiar voice behind her. 

Chloe lowered her phone and turned to the door. She saw Daniel leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed on his chest, watching her from his position with a knowing smile on his face. 

Since when was he here? Had he heard their conversation? Did he know who was-…? 

No, no. No way. 

He couldn't know that. Not that she was ashamed about it, but...Speaking openly and so quickly to her ex-husband about her new boyfriend didn't enchant her. At least for now. It'll stay a secret. 

Until they both decide otherwise. 

Not before. 

She felt her face blushing as the warm contact of stress slyly sneaking into her veins while she awkwardly waved her hand – her phone still trapped in it – before her, looking for a valuable explanation. She averted her eyes from his, briefly looking for words. 

" Oh, no! No, that was...Maze! ", she tried rather dismally. " She called me because she.... she'll go get Trixie after school. That's all. " 

To think that she was a detective of the LAPD...

She was thus supposed to know how bluffing. Maybe she was only good at it in front of the most dangerous criminals arrested? This pretty useful capacity seemed to have abandoned her in this kitchen. Lying to Daniel was more complicated than it was looked like. They'd known each other for a long time. They'd been married. All these tiny things carried weight. If she couldn't even hide it, could she only keep for herself her partner's supernatural identity? 

She had to, however. 

Daniel nodded briefly, smiling softly by hearing her pitiful explanation. He put his hands in his pockets, shrugging while reassuring the detective: 

" It's fine, Chloe. No need to hide this from me. You can start a new life with someone else. That's what divorce does, right? ", he joked, accentuating the dimples that regularly surrounded his smile. 

" Yeah...probably. ", answered the latter, exchanging a knowing smile with her ex before pouring some bitter coffee into her cup. " Sorry, I didn't want to...make you uncomfortable about that. It's quite new... ", she explained just after, Daniel being able to take her silence as a mistrust towards him. 

" I got it, don't worry. ", he reassured her immediately, leaning against the white table in front of the detective. " So... Do I know him? "

Chloe, who'd brought the steaming cup to her lips, stopped her gesture and stared at Daniel for a long time without blinking. A closed glance defying her ex to be further on this thin ice. She was more than reluctant to reveal this banal information. And something told her that Daniel wouldn't take well the fact that it was Lucifer. She couldn't tell why she was so sure about that! Probably because they both hated each other, _definitely_. Daniel noticed her reluctance – her gaze helping to make him understand that – and raised his hands before him, unwilling to annoy the young woman with his questions perceived as intrusive and inappropriate. 

" I get it! ", he said, straightening up a little against the table. " That's none of my business. "

" Thanks, Dan. "

" Anyway... ", he continued softer. " Whoever this guy is, he's doing you good. I've never seen you so...radiant. " 

Chloe looked Daniel in the eye, touched by his words. Not by this implicit compliment, but by this implied admission. His admission. He had never seen her so radiant. Not even during their marriage. He had failed where Lucifer seemed to have mysteriously excelled in. She couldn't fully explain why he caught her eye, she couldn't explain this delightful and odd alchemy working between them. 

It was  _unique_. 

Both literally and figuratively. 

And yet, Daniel accepted his defeat. If we really could call that a defeat. She understood his opinion but didn't fully agree. Daniel hadn't failed in their relationship. They had both failed. Quite simply. They'd tried to build something together. And as for her, they did it well. Chloe couldn't imagine her life without her daughter by her side. Just like her ex. They'd built something together, but...that was it. 

" Thank you... ", she said in a breath, filled with emotion. 

Daniel simply nodded in answer, looking away before rubbing the back of his neck under the young woman's gaze. The latter walked towards the door, giving him a last shy and quite embarrassed smile. He smiled back at her, approaching the fridge near the sink. She heard him open it and close it violently as she walked back at her desk being weighed down under paperwork, a peeved cry resounding behind her: 

**_" For fuck's s-…! Who's stole my pudding?! "_ **

****** * ******

Chloe ran her hand through her hair while passing some doctors near the coffee machine, in a hurry to reach her final destination. 

In a hurry to see him. 

She couldn't control this urgency inside her. An urgency that wasn't at all negative or unpleasant to live. Not at all. It was a _need_ to satisfy. A simple and exciting desire. She had the impression to experience again the intensity, the passion of her first love, in something more powerful. More meaningful. This new relationship between her and Lucifer was meaningful. It made sense. It wouldn't be ephemeral as she was deeply convinced of it a few days ago. 

Not this time. Not anymore. 

She had left her fear; her doubts take the best of her. Taking away her reason, her convictions, her trust. 

She had faith in him. 

In them. 

More than that, she had faith in their story. 

She wanted to believe in it. She wanted to give them a chance to move forward together. To try and to succeed... _Together_. 

The detective slowed her pace, glancing at her watch before turning into the empty corridor to her left. She was early. She didn't think arrive here before the evening. A legitimate thought given the titanic work imposed by her superior. Fortunately, Daniel and her other colleagues had effectively combined their efforts to annihilate this administrative enemy. A significant victory that allowed her to come to the hospital an hour earlier than expected. She didn't have to worry about taking Trixie after school either, Mazikeen having been – with difficulty – convinced to take the latter back to their place, avoiding any activity inadvisable for her young age, of course. Chloe could fully seize this moment, without any sudden impromptu interruption or bloody late case to solve in the next hour. 

Finally. 

She saw Lucifer's room in the middle of the corridor, smiling instinctively at the thought of seeing him again. She hurried up and moved her hand to the handle, the door slightly ajar to one centimeter. A familiar feminine voice resounded inside, stopping the detective's gesture as she finally managed to put a name on this feminine intonation. 

What on earth was Charlotte Richards doing in Lucifer's chamber? 

Chloe lowered her hand, silently coming closer to the door, avoiding to inform her presence in front of it, Charlotte's voice resounding distinctly inside, the latter seeming – by her intonation – quite upset: 

" How could this even happen, Lucifer? You're supposed to be immortal and stay that way! "

" Oh, I am now? Really? ", exclaimed Lucifer, pretending sincere stupefaction. " Well, thank you for telling me this, I didn't notice this tiny detail from my own! "

" Do not play silly with me, Lucifer...", Charlotte warned him sharply. " This sort of thing isn't supposed to happen! It  ** _shouldn't_**  happen! " 

The detective tried to catch a glimpse by the small opened space between the door and the frame, more and more puzzled as for the snatches of conversation she caught from where she was. She saw Charlotte's svelte profile a few inches from the entrance of the room, the latter turning her back to Chloe. 

" Mom... "

Amenadiel was there too? And... And...

Mom....  ** _Mom?!_**

_" What the h-…?! "_

Had Amenadiel just said...? How was it even possible? Did she hear it right? Yes, of course she did. But it was... It was just...

Chloe was trying to get her thoughts in order, the latter turning at full speed to the mere understanding of this common word. Well, not so common right now. Not as far as Lucifer was concerned. Nothing was simple or common with him. 

His mom. His  _real_  mother? How? This woman was Charlotte Richards. A talented lawyer. A woman Lucifer seemed to know, but...

She'd never thought of that kind of connection between them. 

No. No! 

It was...

Charlotte was human...while Lucifer was...

She heard – beyond the internal humming that slyly assaulted her mind – the lawyer and her supposedly partner's mother sighing heavily inside after Amenadiel spoke. 

" Your brother is the Light Bringer, Amenadiel! ", she remarked vehemently. " He ** _can_** ** _not_** be so easily hurt by terrestrial weapons! Lucifer... ", she continued more calmly, but with that authority peculiar to every parent. " I'm your mother, I have the right to know! "

A long silence followed the legitimate request. A relevant question, even for the detective. How could Lucifer be so  _mortal_  ? He was an angel. The Devil. It was quite logical to think about a certain condition of immortality with this impressive and eternal status. 

He was immortal. Before. 

She recalled it now. Jimmy Barnes. The recording studio. 

Lucifer bending over her and then...

Jimmy shot him. At many times. Chloe could only remember some part of this moment but, but this moment did exist indeed. It wasn't some fairy tale created by the physical pain. 

No. 

He  _was_  immortal. 

Before. 

Something had changed. Something he hadn't to foresee himself. Lucifer looked sincerely shocked when she'd managed to scratch his right leg in the warehouse. She could distinctly see again his genuinely surprised expression at the sight of the blood on his fingers and running out from his leg scratched by her previous shot. 

He didn't expect to be hurt, it was more than obvious. 

She saw Charlotte turning slightly to someone out of her sight – surely Amenadiel. She distinctly heard him sighing gently before his voice resounded beyond the ajar door. 

" It's the detective's fault. She makes Lucifer vulnerable. Mortal... " 

Chloe froze behind the door, confused. 

What? She was responsible? But...How could she-…? 

**_" … It appears you make me vulnerable too. "_ **

**_" What?! "_** , Charlotte exclaimed, puzzled. " Why? "

Well...That was an excellent question. 

" Don't know, don't care! ", Lucifer replied, apparently annoyed by this  _family_ talk. 

" Well,  _I do_ _care_ , Son! ", Charlotte's tense voice said. " I mean...You could have died and... and... go straight back to Hell! I would have thought this kind of detail would  _maybe_  worry you a bit! " 

Chloe heard Lucifer let out an exclamation with barely veiled derisive intonations, his deep bitter voice also resounding in the room. 

" I'm really curious to know why you're so worrying about, Mother. Your son's health? Or the fact that you can't go back to Heaven without my help? "

Going back to Heaven? What was he talking about? 

" I am mostly worried about the power that this little bug seemed to have on you! ", she replied sharply, the detective frowning when she heard this unflattering denomination about her. 

_Little bug?_

It was Charlotte's turn to sigh deeply while taking a few steps – still turning he back to Chloe, fortunately – with her hands on her hips before muttering to her partner's brother: 

" I shouldn't have listened to you and blow this insignificant human up..."

**_" You w_** ** _hat?! "_** , Lucifer lost his temper right away, his partner having curiously the same protest in mind. 

She couldn't help shuddering by hearing the threatening and almost  _bestial_  tone of the latter. A shiver of apprehension. She was afraid. Not of Lucifer. Never. She feared his rage, even if it was more than justified and quite flattering. She heard rustles quite similar to the sounds produced by crumpled sheets against a body in the opposite corner of the room, to Charlotte's left. Probably Lucifer becoming agitated in his bed. 

Most probably. 

Charlotte sighed again at her son's excessive reaction – excessive in her opinion, apparently -, explaining her motives about this insane criminal intend quite naturally: 

" It seems obvious that you're  _strangely_ attached to this...mortal! I was planning to get rid of this annoying obstacle so that we could  ** _all_**  go back home. I would have done it if your brother hadn't interfered and stopped me from blowing her car up in front of the restaurant! ", she said, glaring at the brother in question. 

The restaurant. 

Oh God. 

If she hadn't been in Lucifer's car that night...

The latter became more agitated in his bed, his threatening voice filling the entire room like an infernal hair-rising roar: 

**_" Mother, I swear, if you hurt her, I'll rip-…! "_ **

Lucifer suddenly groaned plaintively, stopping his threat. Chloe heard him became more and more agitated in his bed while the lawyer's voice – more and more annoying to hear over time – resounded an umpteenth time: 

" I don't understand your reaction, Lucifer... ", she said, confused. " Why did you care so much about her? She deserves to die! Look what she has forced you to do! You killed ** _my_**  son, your brother Uriel, to protect  _her_! She's nothing...Nothing at all! "

"  ** _Chloe_**  is much more important to me than you ever will! ", spat Lucifer, a rage barely contained filtering through these words.  ** _" Get out! "_**

This last invective was her signal to make a quick gateway. A very quick one. The young woman walked away, looking frantically around her as she still heard some snatches of talk. She had to hide. But  _where?_ Chloe's gaze stopped on the empty room to her right. Losing no time, the latter got closer the door as silently as it was possible, the footsteps echoing inside Lucifer's room following her furtive move. She opened the door and quickly went inside, quietly closing the white door behind her, putting her ear against its cold, polished surface. She heard Amenadiel and Charlotte's voices as they disappeared at the corner of the quiet corridor. Far from Chloe. 

The latter stood for a moment against the door, pensive. 

She couldn't assimilate everything she'd heard. 

His mother threatening her life. This Heaven-stuff. Lucifer being vulnerable because of her...

It was  _insane_. Beyond understanding. 

Why? Why was he vulnerable by her fault? Why did this woman seem pretty sure to be Lucifer's mother? Lucifer didn't deny it, though. Neither his brother. But Lucifer was  _Go_ _d_ _'s_ son! This woman was then...What was she, exactly? Some kind of... _goddess_? What was she doing here? 

Why was she so obsessed with Heaven? And what did she mean by  _" You've killed your brother_ _"_  ?! Lucifer...Killing one of his siblings? For her? _Why?_

Why...Still and always why. 

Chloe closed her eyes briefly while placing her hands against the door in front of her, inhaling deeply to calm down this disorderly flood of thoughts. It wouldn't work like that. Now was not the time to torture her mind. She'd have plenty of time to do so in the future. 

She slowly exhaled before opening the door, going out into the corridor to slowly move towards the next room. The door was still ajar, leaving a larger opened space between the door and the frame. Chloe pushed the door with her right palm, a slight grating joining her movement. She stepped into the room and looked for Lucifer. The latter was lying on his bed, his face turned towards the white ceiling, tense in this inactivity imposed by his convalescence. He sighed as Chloe approached him, his onyx eyes stubbornly staring at grooves of the ceiling above him. 

" What do you not bloody understand in:  ** _get_** ** _out_** ** _?!_**  ", he muttered coldly, as Chloe made sure to close the door behind her. 

" Well...I'm really glad to see you, too! ", the young woman replied as Lucifer quickly raised his head from his pillow as he heard her voice. 

His face tensed until then by the intensity of the previous talk relaxed almost instantly as his dark eyes met hers, his features shining at her sight. She also watched him, pleased to see a real improvement of his general condition. He looked much less exhausted than before, still having shadows under his eyes. His complexion was more colorful as well, closer to his usual skin color than to this disturbing pallor. His hair was a real mess on his skull, going in all directions and giving him a much less  _impressive_  look. His beard had taken some liberty along his cheeks and jaw, being emphasized by his tired face. Lucifer sat up against his pillow, trying to find a comfortable sitting position as the detective came closer. 

" Hi. Sorry about that...I thought it was my rapacious family again! ", he hastened to explain, his last words being still filled with this barely contained rage. 

" Something wrong with them? ", she asked him as she sat cautiously on his side, Lucifer's left thigh against hers. 

" Nothing you need to worry about,  _Love_. "

Chloe smiled more by hearing this nickname. A nickname he'd always given her between two talks and inappropriate offers. A nickname to which she'd never truly paid attention. However, this simple word sounded like a sweet melody in her ears, now. 

" I have great news! ", Chloe told him, removing her brown jacket, throwing it on the seat near the bed, Lucifer giving her a questioning look. " I talked with your doctor...  _unarmed!_ ", she thought good to clarify before her partner's look full of hope. " You can leave the hospital tomorrow evening. Great, huh? "

She took his hand in hers, Lucifer's fingers stroking instinctively her epidermis against his. An unconscious gesture. Essential. She couldn't imagine being near him without touching him, stroking – even briefly – that hand in hers. A touch showing so easily, so simply, their affection for each other. 

It was so  _natural_. 

As if she only had repelled the inevitable, the logical consequence of the last events. Something obvious. Something they both had denied for a long time. Lucifer also seemed get used to this delightful proximity between them. He no longer looked hesitant during each embrace shared with her, of the only few hugs shared so far – his convalescence slowing down their common carnal ardor here. Fortunately. Chloe turned out to be the voice of reason in their new relationship. 

Which was really surprising, by the way! 

Lucifer slouched in his bed, disappointed. 

" We clearly don't have the same definition for the good news. These doctors are bloody charlatans, Chloe! ", he complained, making an adorable sullen pout. " I'm perfectly fine! I'm-… "

He was stopped in his tracks by another groan of pain, a groan resulting from his evident agitation. Her partner stroked his abdomen as discreetly as possible under the white sheet, giving a forced smile to the young woman near him. The latter smiled at him and leaned towards him, kissing his right temple. She sat up and looked at his face, which was showing a sincere interrogation. 

" What was that? ", he asked, intrigued. 

The detective shrugged, her hand still in his as she explained very seriously: 

" It's called a  _magic kiss_. It's something that supposed to help you to get you better. Really effective with children who're hurt! You kiss the injured area and there's no pain anymore. I thought it could work here, maybe. You know...Because you're usually acting like a child... "

She saw Lucifer grimace with this blasphemous parallel, the latter squinting before giving her a charming smile. He shrugged too, saying as seriously as her – if not more than her: 

" Ow! I see. Well, I did feel something, but...I don't think you kissed the proper area. Maybe... a little lower? " 

Chloe gave him a faint smile before leaning back to his face. She felt Lucifer's warm breath against her cheek. A bewitching breath. As bewitching as his dark eyes looking at her. Powerful irises catching her own gaze, her own breath becoming warmer by their delightful proximity. She kissed the tip of his nose, only moving from a few inches, her gray eyes lost in his irises as black as the darkness itself. An enlightened darkness. By a growing desire. Indomitable.  

" Mmh...no. ", he said hoarsely. " It could be better. I think it's even lower... "

Lower. 

Chloe looked him in the eye for a moment. A moment of impalpable eternity. She came closer to his lips. Slowly. Joining as slowly, gently, her lips to his. She moved away again, looking at Lucifer again before moving to his lips. Again. They exchanged another kiss. 

Sweet. Almost shy. Powerful by this softness, this fragility in this simple touch. 

She felt Lucifer's hand leave hers to stroke with the same gentleness her cheeks and the base of her neck, easily awakening the young woman's desire and her epidermis to his touch. Chloe started stroking each accessible part of Lucifer's face, her lips becoming eager, as her partner's. Lucifer's tongue stroked insistently the surface of her own lips, begging to go further. A more than welcomed request. Their breath mixed, answering to their common urgent desire. 

**_" Lucifer! "_** , shouted joyfully a childish voice behind Chloe. 

They quickly and reluctantly moved away from each other, the detective hearing Lucifer muttering some insults against diabolical offspring against her lips before he deigned to break the kiss. The young woman sat up quickly and looked at the door, highly blushing. She saw Trixie standing on the doorstep with her schoolbag on her back, giggling at the sight of the two embraced lovers, Mazikeen right behind her. 

The latter crossed her arms on her chest, clearly annoyed by something. 

" You could at least have waited for me before starting the fun! ", she complained as Trixie ran to the bed, Lucifer trying to shelter behind Chloe to avoid any unwanted touch between them. 

" What are you doing here, Maze? ", asked the detective, her voice roughened by the previous interaction. " I told you to bring Trixie home, not to the hospital! "

" No. You told me to took Trixie after school, nothing else! ", rectified her roommate, confident. " She wanted to see Lucifer! "

Chloe rolled her eyes, already tired of having to explain to Mazikeen the usual responsibilities when you had in charge a child. At least, Trixie was okay. It was kind of a big deal. She couldn't ask too much to a demon, could she? 

" Back off, child! ", Lucifer exclaimed beside her, unwilling to see Trixie climb to the bed where he was safe. 

For now. 

Trixie was literally jumping in front of it, delighted by what she saw earlier when she opened the door. She hopped before her mother, asking with her thin voice: 

" Is Lucifer your boyfriend? "

Chloe opened her mouth and shared a hesitant look with the latter, their hand having once again joined in an instinctive touch during this break. They looked at each other and Chloe turned to her little girl, finally giving an answer: 

" Eumh...Yeah. Yeah, Lucifer is my boyfriend,  _Monkey_. " 

Trixie giggled more, placing her little hands in front of her mouth as she looked at them both. 

" That's so cool! ", she exclaimed, happy. 

Chloe couldn't help but smiling by hearing this sentence. At least, their relationship didn't seem to be a problem for her daughter. That was a pretty good start. She clasped Lucifer's hand in hers, being only half-listening the many questions asked by Trixie and Mazikeen's misplaced remarks, her entire attention caught by this touch. 

Yes. 

Lucifer was her boyfriend. 

Her partner. 

And yes. 

That was so cool. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC with.... " Things always come in threes "  
> __________________________________
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading me as always ^^  
> Next chapter really really mature, you've been warned! 
> 
> Bye bye !


	18. Things always come in threes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the big chapter, guys! With carnal content, among other things ^^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> It's a really long chapter to translate ^^' I'm glad I've done it!   
> Two chapters left before the end, guys!   
> Thanks for your many comments, kudos, views XD

A week. 

That was so...  _long_. 

A wait, or rather a never-ending torment.  How humans could survive to this kind of thing? It seemed like he was succumbing to the spot of being left without raw material to properly survive. A truly essential one. 

Seven days. 

And nothing. 

Only the nothingness. 

A constant parade of stinging failures and bitter disappointments. His mind and body replied to this by a slow death, both muscular and mental. An all new frustration. An awful one that he'd never experienced before. 

Never. 

A week. A bloody week. 

One hundred and sixty-eight endless hours without  _any carnal activities_.

How on earth did he get here?! 

Lucifer leaned against the back of his seat, his face lifted to the strong lights of the lab. He let out a deep and long sigh of frustration as he used as a support with the top of his left shoe the metallic table leg at the end of the room, making move his uncomfortable seat to Ella's glazed closet. From this point, he turned the back of his seat towards the piece of furniture and made the same movement, sliding again to the table not far from the door. He continued this aerodynamic thrust while watching the dirty lights of the ceiling giving a dull lighting inside this place of  _castration_ , to say the least. 

Everything, absolutely everything was conspiring against him lately. Everything. Anything and anyone. 

This lab. 

This murder to solve at once subject to global apocalypse. It was at least the feeling given by his dear and inaccessible partner. 

Why trying to find their bad guy today? Why  _now_? Why not... a bit later? 

The unfortunate man had already crossed the Threshold anyway. What was the bloody point to rush things? That wouldn't bring him back from the dead!  ** _H_** _is_   ** _F_** ather had become quite miserly about miracles over the last millennia. And that fact wasn't going to change overnight. 

Sneaking away just twenty minutes couldn't badly affect this investigation, could it?  _Right_ _?_  

Just...twenty minutes! 

Lucifer could make do with this short timing, even if five minutes would already be more than enough. It would be then rather quick about the foreplay and the deep exploration of her ladylove's hidden desires, but nothing that couldn't be play later. 

Five minutes. Alone. 

Was it so complicated to have on a week's time? 

It seemed so, yes. 

Some human and contingent reasons surrounded his carnal desires till suffocation, though. First of all, Chloe didn't want make things worse with his injuries. A noble reason. Which would have been coherent if he hadn't left this bloody hospital for a week now! Not forgetting his immortality!

He felt perfectly fine! 

For that matter, a private meeting would be the best way to wipe Chloe's reluctance away. A kind of  _post-operative consultation_. A naughty smile came on his lips as he pushed again his seat towards the closet, the wheels making a weak squeezing on the bargain ground of the lab. His smile quickly disappeared, wiped out by these reasons seeping of good sense and bad luck. A reason that shouldn't exist where everything was only passion and desire. 

Spontaneity. 

Pleasure. 

Lucifer was nothing more than frustration and low mood for a week. Two unwelcome and stubborn emotions over hours and days without one single sexual activity to offset them. 

And he tried hard. 

Once he managed to show her how ridiculous was her doubts and fears about his health – he took him less than three days to totally recover on the physical plan -, Chloe hadn't been truly reluctant to deal with their relation in depth. Quite the contrary, actually. 

That's where the second reason of their non-carnal study was interfering. Besides, i _nterfering_  was too weak to qualify the disturbance and the frustration cleverly produced. A cataclysm wasn't as much destructive as a neurotic offspring and a smartass demon. 

Mazikeen's impulse had always been interesting, but...

How could he put this?

Being interrupted by his demonic subordinate during an embrace with high carnal potential was far less appreciable.  Definitely less appreciable when she had the front to give you some advices on the best way to satisfy the lady and vice versa with a physical demonstration. Lucifer had to use his ability to negotiate to avoid a serious incident between the two friends and roommates. And to restrain his own will to rip the indecent demon's head off. He and Chloe didn't need any advice to have some fun together! 

They just needed...bloody  _time_! 

And what about the awful detective's offspring...

One simple kiss with her – how innocent it was – consistently led to the child's annoying giggling who was always near them. Anyone would think that this small human had a built-in sensor. Her interruptions coated of bloody giggling were perfectly timed. Too perfectly timed. Mazikeen and the spawn were plotting together to get him away from Chloe. 

Yes, that was a damned plot. 

A brazen collaboration against the Devil's pleasures.  

He couldn't even satisfy his carnal desires with someone else! 

Well, once again, the word used here wasn't entirely appropriate. It wasn't a matter of  _"can"_  but of  _"want_ _"_. Lucifer didn't want to look elsewhere. 

What was the point? 

No other woman, man...Anyone on this planet, in the skies or underground could satisfy his obsessive desire. One single desire. 

Chloe. 

His desire wasn't only about the purely physical and recreational pleasure of this action. He knew that part since a while. The new was somewhere else. Why would he look into someone else the detective's distinctive characteristic? It was stupid. Insane. 

Her eyes. Her lips. Her golden hair. Her voice. Her mimicking's. Her way of looking at him when he annoyed her or – on the contrary – when he piqued her interest. 

No one else in this world was comparable to her. 

Chloe was the only woman he wanted. Body and soul. It was what it was, he couldn't explain it. Lucifer had always liked her company, their arguments and other teasing due to their professional partnership. But now, all this was... _more._  Why and how: he'd have liked to know. Or at least understand. It was really strange. All these physical, emotional changing inside him. Changing having one single source. 

Chloe. 

This warmth that took over his body when she gave him a smile. A simple smile. His increased heartbeats as she walked into the room and looked at him. His lack of breathing when they brushed past each other, intentionally or not. 

All these changes, just for her. 

And... no compensation in return?! 

The possibilities of carnal sessions weren't getting better and their hidden new relationship didn't put things right either. Chloe didn't want to make their  _story_  public. Not yet. Not so fast. And Lucifer could – if not understand it – at least agree to her request. Although, this situation was rather hampering. Everyone would eventually find out sooner or later. They worked together. And much  _more_  than that! If they'd find time...One day! The nightmarish child had quite easily been convinced to not tell anyone, this ban including her  _douche_ -father, of course. One or two chocolate cakes and cash did the trick! An agreement of which the detective didn't know anything about, of course. As for the sweet and monetary compensation. This stayed between him and the spawn. A tacit agreement. Which was necessary to comply with her partner's will. It didn't really bother Lucifer, except – of course – for this unchanging and unbearable recreational restriction. Using _vous_ in public wasn't a problem either. It was even quite exciting. A kind of role play with far more serious part. 

And he loved role play. 

The justifications given by the young woman were quite convincing, though. Their reputation, _her_  reputation particularly, Lucifer's being firmly established. And unkind rumors. 

And Daniel. 

The detective  _Douche_ , in particular. 

Chloe wanted to spare him. Why, Lucifer didn't bloody know but the detective had been able to have his silence by some arguments. Avoiding death by gunshots if Espinoza found out the truth about him and his ex-wife, for instance. A solid argument. Although he really wanted to see the douche's face by hearing the news, going back to the hospital for an undefined period wasn't in his plans. That would be another sterilized sequestration which would only extend this abstinence period. 

A week. 

Lucifer pushed his seat one more time with his foot and moved to the other side of the room, letting out another long and deep sigh, too. 

"  _Lucifer..._  ", said very calmly the detective's voice to his left as he pushed his seat towards the door. " If you're getting bored that much, you still can help us to solve this murder, you know! " 

He moved his seat to the door and stared briefly at the lights of the ceiling, which making a weak chirping by enlightening the room. He frowned, using his left foot pivot his seat back and forth on a few inches, the shrill lights above him having the same pace. Lucifer made that move again before he stopped, frowning more and asking around: 

" Why do the priests choose abstinence on their own free will? "

Lucifer stopped staring at the ceiling and lowered his head, giving a questioning look to the detective and Ella. Chloe, seated before the table of the lab and having her nose stuck in a boring and voluminous file, didn't deign to raise her head and giving him the least attention seen as unnecessary to solve this crime. The forensic, who wasn't far from her, shifted her head of the big microscope and took off one of her earphones. She opened her mouth to give an answer to the Devil's quite relevant question. Chloe took action, her gray eyes not leaving the sleep-inducing file while she said once again calmly: 

" Given that the victim was not a priest or even a believer, I don't think that answering this question will help us to solve this murder. " 

" You don't know that, Detective! ", replied her partner, smiling at her as she briefly looked at him before reading again this boring file. " We have to scrupulously consider all the possible leads and-… "

"  _Not this lead_ , Lucifer! ", Chloe interrupted him, insisting on each syllable. 

He smiled more and moved his seat towards the table while showing an offended expression on his face. 

" I must say that I'm shocked, Detective! Neglecting such a serious lead...What a lack of professionalism and impartiality! ", exclaimed her partner, falsely offended by the young woman's not open-minded attitude. 

Chloe rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh, glaring at Lucifer as he slowly filled the distance between them with the noisy wheels under his seat. She closed abruptly the file in front of her and turned to the forensic, who was watching the animated talk between the two partners in a corner, seemingly amused by the situation. 

" Ella... ", asked the young woman, resigned. " Could you-…? "

"…- let you share secret and totally private talk in  ** _my_** secret and totally private space? ", finished Ella with her usual enthusiasm, a knowing smile on her lips as she put her earphones on the table. " No worries! That's why I have a lab! I suddenly need a coffee and so get out of here... _So strange_ , huh? "

Ella gave her a wink and quickly walked towards the door, Chloe thanking her for her discretion: 

" Thank you, Ella. It won't be long...  _I_ _hope!_ ", she said then to Lucifer, glaring at him as the young forensic was closing the door behind her. 

Leaving the two partners alone. 

As soon as the door was closed, Chloe turned her own seat to Lucifer and gave him an angry look that didn't impress him at all. Not in the least. He feigned a sincere innocence, making turn the back of his seat on itself several times as the detective began to pat nervously her foot on the ground. 

" Why are you suddenly so interested by the clerics and their noble vows of chastity? ", she asked him after another turning. " Do you want to start over? Become a man of God? Or are you just trying to stop me from catching a murderer because you think your boredom is much more important as always?! ", she lost her temper, more and more annoyed by her partner's each new rotation before her. 

Lucifer stopped to clown around, stopping his seat in front of his partner, and gave her a revolted look. 

" If I had to see my  _ **D** ear  **O** ld  **D** ad_, it wouldn't be for such a hideous thing but rather to spit in  ** _H_** _i_ _s_   _ **H** oly  **F** ace _! The distance between  ** _H_** _im_  and us is a sizeable problem but not totally insurmountable! And  ** _H_** _e_  doesn't have a  _face_ , strictly speaking. Besides, I have no need to join these  _ **H** oly  **A** sshole_'s hooded and hypocritical worshipers to endure the same carnal restrictions! ", he replied accusingly in staring intently the detective's desirable body. 

She seemed to look at him with increasing stupefaction as her partner shared his frustration. Which was quickly replaced by an intense annoyance as she took her head in her hands. She quickly lowered them and shook her head in spite: 

" Why am I still surprised to see that you prefer to satisfy your personal desires rather than solve a crime...? ", she thought out loud with consternation. 

Lucifer closed his seat to hers, their knees almost brushing. 

" I'm a man of priorities, darling! ", he objected vehemently. " It's been a week since I left the hospital, Chloe.  _A week!_  I've never had such a long time of abstinence in my life! It's intolerable! Devil and chastity are two words that didn't match at all, believe me! "

"  ** _That's just it_** , Lucifer! It's only been  ** _a week_**! Seven days! ", she thought useful to specify in case this basis temporal notion wouldn't be understand by her annoying partner. " It's too early to cry out in despair, don't you think? "

" For you, maybe! Not for me! You've been used to  _carnal_ _death_  for years...What's a bloody week for you? Do you realize what kind of hell it is for me, lately? " 

Apparently not. 

Chloe didn't seem to feel any compassion for him at that time. Lucifer could see the tension and the annoyance contracting the muscles of her jaw, showing not an inch of compassion for his regrettable situation. Wasn't she supposed to feel compassion for him? If not experiencing the same frustration? Didn't she want  _more_? Lucifer desperately needed more. 

The detective rolled her eyes and strongly sighed through her nose. 

" You'll have to deal with this, Lucifer. Living as a couple, it's... accepting some concessions! For you, it's abstinence and for me, it's your whims! Period! "

" This is not a  _whim!_ ", he replied immediately. " This is about survival! "

Chloe shook her head by facing his stubbornness, reasonable according to him, while letting out another sigh. Lucifer looked her in the eye, begging her with his onyx irises to find an acceptable solution to this despicable abstinence. The young woman broke the eye-contact with him to look at the closed door and windows blocked by the white blinds. Lucifer watched her, puzzled. 

Why was she suddenly interested by this part of the room? That wasn't going to solve their problem, was it? 

Then Chloe turned to him and took his face between her hands, briefly kissing his lips. It was short. Lovely by this brevity and equally unbearable for the same reason. A simple touch wakening as simply this internal warmth. And which was stifling him as fast as he was becoming fire. Stifling Lucifer's thoughts. The rational ones, at least. 

Chloe moved away quickly, releasing her partner's face and scrutinizing him as he remained frozen by that too short kiss. 

" We're good, now? ", she asked him with a hurried tone. " Can we get back to work?! Solve a murder?!... Or you need more?! "

Lucifer remained silent, totally enthralled by her. By the outside light caressing her blond hair along her neck. The intensity in her eyes, the curve of her chin, her fragrance...

All these little things so insignificant and yet, so...

He gulped and slowly shook his head. Chloe squinted to his strange behavior, puzzled. 

" No. ", he finally said. " I need more. Bloody more! " 

Upon these words, Lucifer wrapped Chloe's face with his hands and kissed her lips with his. Longer. More intensely. 

Just.. _.more_. 

He wanted more. He needed more. 

A simple kiss wouldn't change his frustration. On the contrary. That would only make it worse than before. It would intensify it, at best. Lucifer needed a real touch. A real physical harmony. If not complete, at least in this kiss without any chastity. He needed passion, an obvious expression of their shared desire. 

Just a moment. A tiny moment. 

He felt Chloe struggle in his embrace, but didn't stop. Hell, no. He deepened the kiss, stroking with his tongue his partner's lower lip. She moaned against his mouth. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, not to push him away, but to bring him closer to her. Chloe opened her lips, allowing him – asking him – to go further in showing their shared desire. 

The desire of the other. 

Lucifer smiled against her wonderful lips and deepened this passionate exchange, his partner willingly answering to his ardor. She stroked the inside of his neck with her fingertips, making him shiver with this touch. A refreshing touch against his burning up epidermis. Lucifer was burning up. He was burning with desire to touch her more, to kiss her more, to show more this passionate need that consumed him from the inside. He moved one of his hands to her hip, sliding his fingers under her gray shirt, Chloe sighing with ecstasy against his greedy lips. He raised his hand along her hip. Gently. Very slowly. A fleeting touch against her delectable skin. She shivered and grabbed the back of his hair, stifling another moan of pleasure against his mouth. In return, the detective moved one of her hands along his torso and touched the inside of his thighs, Lucifer stiffening to her touch. 

What a little liar he had here. 

It was more than obvious now that Chloe lived the same frustration. She desired him ardently. She just had managed to hide her desires far more cleverly than him. 

He tightened his embrace around her hips and kissed his partner's lips with increased desire, her lips inciting a truly tempting lust. He vaguely heard a sound on his right but didn't pay attention to it, his mind turned to this constant flood of heady emotions inside him. A loud cry surprised them both, Lucifer feeling Chloe quickly moving away from him as he let out a frustrated grunt. He didn't deign to turn to the source of that bloody noise, panting and still dizzy by this intense embrace. 

When he said that everything was conspiring against him for some time...

He sat up and turned to the door, willing to rip into the person who dared to interrupt them. Whoever it was...he'll pay for this. Lucifer saw the young forensic near the door with a cup of coffee in hand. Her other hand was placed in front of her eyes for some obscure reason. 

Was the light too strong here or-…? Was she suffering from convulsions? 

Her physical worries wouldn't save her from his punishment, anyway. 

"  ** _Wooooow_** ** _!_**  ", she exclaimed, stubbornly holding her hand before her field of vision. " I believed that what you were about to do is really  _too much_  secret and totally private for my lab! "

" Ella, I-...We-...hmm... ", stammered Chloe near him, her cheeks as red as the cover of her file. 

Ella lowered her hand and looked quickly behind her, making sure no one else had seen the two partners right in the middle of this private thing. She turned to them and said innocently: 

" You know... I'm gonna have need more time to check this evidence. Maybe a few hours.  _Microscopes_ _,_  huh? So... If you want to, I don't know, do something else in the meantime... " 

The young forensic gave them a knowing smile and went back to the kitchen. 

A few hours. 

A few... _hours_. 

Lucifer swallowed and slowly turned to Chloe. He looked her in the eye, seeing here the same desire. The same need. This same urgency. 

A few hours. 

It was more than he ever hoped for. 

The two partners understood each other in an instant. 

" I drive! ", Lucifer said immediately before leaving his seat. 

** ***** **

 

As soon as Lucifer walked out of the elevator, he turned to Chloe and her lips fiercely kissed his before he could attempt anything. 

A surprising and wonderful ardor from her. 

The young woman's heady fragrance intoxicated him. He let out a laugh against her eager lips, as eager as the rest of her tempting body. She grabbed his jacket and lowered it on his shoulders as Lucifer moved back in the living room, taking Chloe with him in this walk become awkward by their shared eagerness. His jacket fell on the floor, just like Chloe's. Lucifer's back stumbled over the music stand of his piano as he kissed the inside of her neck partially hidden by her golden hair. He raised her gray shirt to her chest, stroking her skin with his thumbs and made his partner sigh with satisfaction. 

A week. 

There were so much things to do. So much things...

Chloe pulled his black shirt out of his pants, grabbing the fabric to make Lucifer following her towards the bedroom. He came closer to her, docile – in theory – and encircled her face with his hands, kissing once more her lips as sweet as the sweetest terrestrial or celestial nectar. He moved away and watched her, his dark eyes fevered by desire meeting hers. 

" A week. ", he said with frustration in his voice. " We're a week late, Love! Hours won't be enough... I could never be satisfied enough! " 

He tickled her earlobe with his tongue, Chloe stiffening in his arms with this electrifying labial touch. 

No. Lucifer could never be satisfied. The more he tasted that body, the more he spent time with her and the more he needed her. 

She stroked his hair and unbuttoned his shirt, laughing at his words. 

" I thought  _you_  were the walking heroin! The one we can't live without... "

" True, but... not with you. "

Lucifer stopped kissing his partner's erogenous skin and raised his head, kissing tenderly the corner of her lips as she finished to unbutton his shirt and the last obstacle of his own nudity. Above the belt. 

" This said, switching roles could be interesting. I don't mind playing the poor victim and you the seductive monster! Well, the  _succubus_  would be more appropriate, wouldn't it? ", he smiled. 

Chloe laughed softly. She kissed his lips tenderly and stepped back. Lucifer remained in the center of the living room, watching her slow and provocative move with a passionate look. She stepped back until the steps leading to the bedroom, slowly pulling out her shirt and showing her beautiful breasts encircled by a low-cut white bra. She dropped her shirt near the steps, her uncombed blond hair encircling her face and shoulders. Lucifer stared hungrily at her, swallowing hard before this tempting vision. 

Tempting the Devil. How ironic. 

Chloe brought her hands to her hips and began to unbutton her pants intentionally slowly, her intense gray look not leaving Lucifer. 

" _What's your deepest darkest desire?_ ", she whispered to him. 

Lucifer didn't answer. Not with words. He filled the distance between them and put his lips on hers. The answer was here. In this touch. In this embrace. 

Her. 

Just her. 

A deep, intense and odd desire. But why should he explain a desire? 

They quickly climbed the few steps between them and the bedroom which was bathed in a soft orange light from the setting sun. Lucifer felt Chloe's hands gently slide his shirt along his arms, the expensive cloth falling near the bed. They collapsed together on the bed in a tangle of clothes partially removed from the body of the other. Still busy to kiss urgently his partner's lips, Lucifer tried to pull out her other superfluous clothes. He pulled her jeans down her legs, Chloe helping him to do the same. It took them less than a few seconds to undress almost completely, their respective underwear remaining on them. 

For now. 

Lucifer kissed her and stroked her hips, moving his hand along her side to her chest. Chloe left his lips to gently nibble the skin of his neck as he tried to remove her bra. Once he did, he stroked the rose-colored tip of her left breast with his thumb, Chloe closing her eyes with this touch and nibbling her lower lip. She touched his lower back with her fingertips, her partner sighing contentedly, and she moved higher. 

Touching accidentally the end of his scars.  

Lucifer tensed and closed his eyes, gasping for air. A strong wave of...He didn't know what it was, but...

It was...

This wave – caused by this simple touch – spread like wild fire inside him. Devouring any rational thoughts and deeply merging with his senses. Lucifer grabbed Chloe's arm and moaned, this indefinable sensation continuing to invade each cell of his body. It didn't last more than a second, Lucifer quickly regaining control of his body and mind. Chloe moved away from him and hurriedly pulled out her hand from his back, apologizing profusely. 

" Sorry. I'm so sorry, I-… "

Why was she apologizing? 

She moved away again, leaning against the cushions, and gave to him a worried look also filled with guilt. He sat up on his knees and stared at her, puzzled and annoyed by the interruption. 

"...sorry to kill the mood? Well, you can be sorry, indeed! ", he teased her as he came closer to her. " Come here, Love... "

He gently kissed her lips, the edge of her jaw, the inside of her neck. Chloe didn't move for a moment before slowly moved her hands along his arms. A shy movement. 

" I-I thought...You didn't want me to touch them. ", she said. 

Lucifer stopped kissing her delectable body and raised his head to hers, confused. 

" What are you talking about? "

" Your scars. "

His scars? 

Why did she want to talk about them now? 

He frowned, staring at the young woman with perplexity. 

" You didn't want me to touch them when I... you know, the first time I saw them. ", Chloe vaguely explained. " And now, I just touched one of them. I thought that-...You weren't moving! Did I hurt you or-…? "

" What?! No! Bloody Hell, no! Absolutely not, darling! ", he reassured her immediately. 

She nodded, slowly stroking Lucifer's forearm while staring intently at him. She frowned, pensive. 

" Why...Why did you change your mind? I mean... How come I can touch them now? " 

Why. 

That was an excellent question. 

Lucifer opened his mouth to answer something but nothing came. Because he didn't bloody know why. Not really. 

_Why?_  

Why was he not bothered by her touch? That was odd, indeed. Rather new, in fact. He didn't allow anyone to touch this part of him. His scars were more than mere parts of bruised flesh. That always had been...  _more_. 

Touching his scars, it was touching  ** _him._**  

Lucifer. 

Not the Devil. Not the die-hard seducer. 

Just him. 

Who he really was. Naked. Vulnerable. Without any protection. 

Why? Why Chloe could-…? 

Lucifer swallowed, looking the young woman in the eye. Losing himself in these innocent gray irises. These comforting eyes. 

" I don't know. I-...I trust you. ", he finally answered, almost instinctively. 

He kept looking at Chloe, unable to do something else. Something crossed his partner's look. A thought, a fear or something else? Something that was quickly gone. She smiled at him. 

A simple smile. 

Slowly, cautiously, she asked him by a slight pressure on his shoulders to turn. He hesitated briefly before he sat on the edge of the bed, back to her. He felt Chloe moving on the silky sheets behind him without touching him. 

Not yet. 

A first touch – light, as light as the evening breeze – against his rough skin made him shiver. The touch stopped straight away. Lucifer could almost feel, see his partner's doubt. He could see her hesitant hand a few millimeters from his back. Then came another touch against his skin. More insistent, this time. Longer. Less shy. Lucifer closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh. 

Strangely, this touch was  _soothing._  

It was an indefinable sensation. A delectable caress. Better than anything else in the world. Chloe's hand became more audacious, stroking the edges of his scars with her thumb. She redesigned scrupulously each curve, each demarcation with extreme softness. He firmly grabbed the sheets with his both hands and nibbled his lower lip. His heart bolted in his chest with another touch, Lucifer feeling Chloe's palm tenderly covering on of his scars. He moaned again, panting. His body and mind were becoming mad with this simple and yet intense touch from Chloe's hand against his back. He could once again feel this odd electrifying sensation sliding along his shoulder blades, around his grazed skin, inside his limbs...

Like a blaze. A heady vibration. Unidentified and essential. 

It was as if...Chloe was touching  _more_. As if her hand went beyond his physical envelope. Beyond the scars. A deepest touch. A touch of his Soul. 

She was touching  ** _him_**. And only him. 

The sensation of her hand against his skin suddenly disappeared. Another touch replaced the previous one. Chloe pressed her lips against one of his scars, stroking the other one with her fingertips. Lucifer quivered, letting out a hoarse gasp with this new touch. Her breathing touched his epidermis, his senses, his soul. A breathing sweeping away this constant pain. Appeasing it. 

Finally. 

Lucifer was quivering all over his body, unable to regain control. Unwilling to do so. He felt something  _damp_ running on his skin. Running along his cheeks and encircling his jaw. Chloe's lips left his back to gently kiss his shoulder, his temple. He opened his yes, meeting hers. Her intense gray eyes. Without any pity. 

Just...something else. 

Something powerful. Something important. She took his face with her hands, silent, scrutinizing his features, his tears running on his cheeks. Lucifer lost himself in her intense gaze, also scrutinizing her features, the way the sun enlightened her skin, her hair...

Slowly, Chloe approached her face and tasted with her lips his tears falling on his cheeks. Taking away this millennial pain again. She sifted her lips to his, kissing him tenderly. Lucifer pushed her against the mattress, imprisoning her body under his. He left the touch of her mouth with regret, touching in turn with his lips the curve of her breasts, his breathing caressing them. He lowered the last clothing obstacle along her legs, eager to touch her as she had touched him. 

Completely. 

More. Just... more. 

He did the same for him, throwing his black boxers on the floor near the bed. Equalizing their complete nudity. Being baring for each other. He leaned to the space between her legs, simply kissing her here. Chloe jumped slightly in his embrace, a start that made him smile. He stroked the inside of her thighs with his hands, watching her responses. He pressed his thumb against her clit, a simple pression. As simple as fast. She quivered, clutching almost instinctively the sheets under her. Lucifer tickled this part of her body more insistently, his partner moaning several times. Tired of this little game, he tasted with his lips the sensitive clit, Chloe's body briefly tensing with this labial touch. He didn't stop here, though. 

No way. 

Slowly, Lucifer explored it with his tongue, then moving lower. And deeper. He felt Chloe's hand grabbing his hair forcefully, asking him to stop this labial movement... or asking him to continue. He chose the last one. He wanted to make her feel what he had felt with her previous caresses. Giving back to her what she'd offered him earlier. 

He quickly added his fingers to his tongue, Chloe contorting herself with this delightful and unbearable treatment.  

"  _Haaan_ _...!_  Lucifer...", she gasped between two moans of pleasure. " Come...Now! " 

He came, Chloe's hands leaving his hair to encircle his face as he approached hers, pressing their naked body to each other. Tasting, feeling the nudity of the other. The desire of the other, for the other. 

Tasting  _more_. 

Lucifer leaned forward, kissing her lips intensely. Kissing  _her_. Just her. Chloe opened her legs, asking him to go further. Together. 

He moved his turgescent member between her legs, uniting his gaze to hers as they united their body. He came inside her slowly, a slow movement that made them both quiver. With pleasure, with apprehension...It didn't matter. Only this physical union mattered. This union that was more than that. Chloe didn't stop to look him in the eye, her eyes fevered by all these heady sensations. She touched his lower back with her hands to firmly grasp his butt, urging him to go deeper inside her. What he did. They didn't move for a moment, tasting this simple pleasure. This satisfaction of being simply united to the other. Lucifer gently kissed Chloe's lips, her cheeks, her shoulder. As gently and simply as she stroked his own cheeks, his shoulder and the back of his neck. 

He slowly began to move inside her, with her. With an intentional slowness. An almost shy and cautious movement. A slowness that awakened his senses, his skin against hers. That awakened his Soul. An unbearable slowness. And yet, it was necessary. Chloe encircled his hips with her thin legs and nibbled his earlobe, whispering to him in a breathless, urgent voice: 

" Faster... "

Faster. 

Lucifer moved one of his hands under her butt, a touch that made his partner moan again as he pressed her against him, increasing the pace. Each movement, each touch skin against skin...so tender or so brutal they could be...Each move together made Lucifer completely mad. That was how he felt this union. Nothing was normal. And everything was, too. He didn't bloody understand. 

This kind of thing...

Sex wasn't as...

It was truly pleasurable in general, but here...it was...

It was just...more. 

Much more. 

Moans of pleasure quickly filled the room partially enlightened by the last sun's rays. The two partners united their mouth like their carnal embrace, this embrace of the soul. This embrace that was  _more_. He felt Chloe's hand touched then strongly pressed one of his scars, an electrifying touch that made him move faster, moving deeper inside her and more brutally. She held him tight, pressing her lips against his in a vain attempt to catch their breath, taking his own breath by that passionate kiss. She reached her climax, letting out a moan stifled against his lips. And not stifling Lucifer's desire. On the contrary. He stroked her hips at the same pace as his increasingly erratic movements, holding her tight to not sink yet in the depths of pleasure. To not lose control on himself. A battle he knew he'll lose. Lucifer felt pleasure rising inside him. It won more ground on his will with each new movement inside her. Pleasure submerged him in a last strong movement. He stiffened in her arms, burying his face in her neck while moaning strongly. The tension in his body and mind blew up, leaving panting. And exhausted. 

Well, that was new. 

Just like this perspiration all over his numb body. 

Perhaps it was caused by his contingent mortality... 

He leaned on his forearms and moved his face before hers, staring at Chloe with some fascination. She touched with the back of her hand his chin, her half-closed eyes watching him, too. Lucifer pressed his damp forehead against hers, closing his eyes and simply enjoying this touch with her. This moment. This silence. He moved away after a time, rolling on his back at her side and staring at the ceiling without really seeing it. The silence was only disturbed by their breathing, this shared post-climax breathlessness. Lucifer slowly regained control of his body and thoughts, still stubbornly lying on the crumpled sheets, unable to do anything else than breathe and think. Think about this innovation. This difference in his life. This mystery. 

" Why is it so different? ", he said loudly, pensive. 

" Hmmm...? "

Chloe came closer, resting her head on his shoulder, her golden hair tickling his chin as she looked at him questioningly. He smiled at her softly, shaking his head as if he tried to remove these stupid thoughts. 

" It's nothing. Nothing important. " 

" Tell me...", she asked softly, stroking his bare chest with her fingertips, his skin gently awakening with her touch. 

Lucifer wrapped her shoulders with his right arm, approaching her more closely to him. He breathed his heady fragrance of her hair and kissed tenderly her temple before sharing his confused thoughts: 

" I don't know. It's quite difficult to explain. ", he hesitated. " Sex has no secrets for me since...since the beginning of time, actually. I know how arouse the other's desire, how to fulfill his expectations, but...With you, it's-… "

"…- different? "

" Yes. " 

" And you didn't like it? ", she worried in his arms, rising her head to his. 

" No! ", he hastened to reassure her. " It's the opposite, Chloe. It's just that I don't understand why this difference exists. With others, it was distracting. With you, it's...more. "

More. 

Why more? Should he be worried about this? He couldn't know. And it was bloody annoying. Chloe raised her head to his, a bright smile enlightening her features as Lucifer looked at her questioningly. She began to laugh, the tremors passed on his own body. 

" Well, there's a very simple explanation to this odd phenomenon. ", his partner implied, tickling the inside of his neck with her nails. 

" Is there? Which one? " 

" You just made love for the very first time in your life! "

What? 

Making love? Could we  _make_  love? How? 

Lucifer stared at his partner, skeptical. Chloe's smile widened more on her face as she saw his obvious confusion. He frowned, puzzled. He knew exactly what he had just done with her. And that wasn't... _love_. They had had sex. Chloe laughed at his increasingly confused look. Not a mocking laugh, just an amazed one. She straightened up against him, using his muscular torso as a support, and leaned her head against her palm. 

" There's a real difference between  _having sex_ and  _making love_ , Lucifer. Sex is a physical act. It's pleasant, but nothing more. Making love, it's more. You give your trust to the other, you completely open up to the other. Physically and emotionally. It's...more, as you said! ", she explained, wiping a mark of this shared emotion on Lucifer's cheek with her thumb. 

Emotions. Trust. 

Had he even lived this before? This  _satisfaction_? This calming? 

Why was he reacting like this with Chloe? Why did he trust her so much? 

Why? 

Chloe rolled on her side, her arm against his, and sighed with satisfaction. She briefly closed her eyes, Lucifer remaining lying by her side and enjoying the vision of her naked body receptive to an outrageous lust. 

" Anyway...I found it much better than the last time! ", she said, turning to him, her cheeks still blushed by her previous climax. 

" Well, you know what we say, Love...The sequel is always better than the first! ", he replied, leaning to her, kissing her naked shoulder and her breasts. 

" True, but the third part usually sucks. ", she said, smiling more with each new kiss against her skin. " Too bad...We'll have to stop here. " 

_" What?! "_

Lucifer stopped to kiss her, sharply rising his head and staring at his partner with confusion. 

Stop? Hell, no! Never! 

He was opening his mouth to his reasonable opinion about their relation when he saw the malicious glim in Chloe's eyes. She was smiling from ear to ear, now. A smile which only made her more desirable. He rolled his eyes and leaned back heavily against the pillow, an annoyed grunt coming out of his mouth as the detective roared with laughter near him. She moved on the silk sheets and climbed up on him, encircled his hips with her thin legs. She leaned to him, her breasts caressing his warm chest as she kissed him tenderly. A kiss imbued with intimacy. With trust. A kiss much more powerful than anything else by its simplicity. They broke the kiss quickly, Lucifer glaring at the young woman. 

" You shouldn't live with Maze...You're becoming too diabolical, even for me! She could at least teach you something more useful, though. " 

Chloe smile softly at his comment and barely touched his lips with hers before moving away, meeting his eyes. 

" Why teaching me what I'd already learned...? ", she implied, her breathing ruffling the skin of his face and sweeping away all rational thought from his mind. 

Before he could kiss her again, the detective straightened up, still sitting on him, looking at the patio. Lucifer followed her gaze, intrigued. She turned to him again, asking him with a falsely innocent voice, even for her: 

" You have a jacuzzi, right? "

" Yes. Why? "

Chloe didn't answer him, giving him another knowing smile. She released him from her delightful embrace to get off the bed, completely naked. He watched her walk very slowly towards the patio door between the bedroom and the outside. Between her and the jacuzzi. She pulled the handle and opened the door, the fresh air of the evening rushing inside the room and making Lucifer shiver slightly. Chloe turned to him, her perfect body bathed by the mauve and orange shades. The gentle breeze ruffled her golden hair. Lucifer couldn't look somewhere else. 

" What are you doing? ", he asked, leaning on his forearm. 

She stepped back again to the outside, giving a provocative smile to her partner while shrugging. 

" Well...I know the ins and outs of jacuzzi for a while, now! And you know what we said...", she smiled more, slowing moving to the patio. " Things always come in thr-… "

She couldn't finish her sentence. 

Lucifer straightened up quickly and walked around the bed faster than anyone else, running after Chloe, his laugh joining hers as he pursued her outside. 

Oh yes. 

He perfectly knew what we said. 

_Things always come in threes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC with..." Knocking on Heaven's Doors "
> 
> Thanks for reading me! I saw the first episode as you probably did, too. It was awesome **   
> Bye bye!


	19. Knocking on Heaven's Doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> The penultimate chapter! OO  
> Just one left before ending this story TT It's so sad!  
> Thanks again for the comments and the kudos. ^^  
> I'm happy to get to the end of this translation, anyway (so much work).  
> Enjoy this new chapter!

Sleep.  

Just a little more.  

A little bit.  

Chloe was clinging desperately to the effluvium of sleep that until now cradled every inch of her body. Like some kind of a heavy breath ruffling her skin, her senses, her mind. This sleep-inducing breath slipping away slyly in favor of a fresh breeze far too bracing. The young woman groaned slightly in protest and hunched her shoulders, hoping with the small gesture to soothe this breeze which wanted so much to stimulate her senses and wake her from this gentle torpor. The breeze tickled the back of her neck, snaking in and out between her shoulder blades and slightly ruffling her lower back. Chloe trembled gently under this impalpable touch, burying her face in the pillow, stubborn to persist in this thrilling sleep.  

She didn't want to move, to think or do anything else but float in limbo. Float. Let herself be cradle. Simple as that. Yet, she could feel the sleep slowly leave her body, releasing her mind from this comforting foggy state. Releasing her perceptions. She felt more and more distinctly the touch of the thin, silky cover on her bare skin. The strong touch of the breeze along her spine, along her hair – a few strands brushing her left cheek with the windy flood. The night distant sounds from the town awakening at the same rate as her own thoughts. The dim light inside the bedroom filtering beyond her closed eyelids. The grogginess of her limbs. All these tiny perceptions led her to feel something else.  

Not to feel something, specifically.  

It led her to become aware of this missing sensation. This sensation that should have existed.  

An important sensation.  

The burning touch of  _his_  skin against hers. The touch of  _his_  heady breath along her neck and not the sharper one of the evening breeze.  

The sensation of  _his_  body against hers.  

This sensation was missing.  

Lucifer was missing.  

Chloe frowned softly but didn't open her eyes, moving softly on her back. She let her left hand fall back to her side on those sheets unoccupied by any other body if not her own. She rubbed the thin sheet with the back of her hand, a rubbing certifying his absence near her. Reluctantly, the young woman slowly opened her eyes, taking a few seconds to fully come back to reality. Her gaze, still half-closed and crowned with tenacious sleep, moved immediately to the black ceiling of the room. Then, she gently turned her face to her left, staring absent-mindedly her hand on the satin-smooth sheet.  

She gently raised her head from the pillow far too comfortable under her, calling her partner with a sleepy voice:  

" Lucifer? " 

Nothing or no one answered her clearly, except the tenacious breeze through the open window. Chloe straightened up again, instinctively bringing the thin sheet back against her chest as it slid slyly aver her bare skin. She moved on her side, looking towards the patio. She saw her own clothes as well as his scattered on the dark floor, damp traces – almost gone now – standing on it between the undone bed and the patio. And the hot tub. She could feel her cheeks gently blush at the memories about that moment. A wonderful time. Just like every moment, physically exhausting or not, shared with Lucifer.  

Who wasn't in the bedroom.  

" Lucifer? " 

Nothing, once again.  

No footsteps or other sounds informing her of another person's presence around reached her ears. She watched the cloudiness outside, the lightnings of the buildings – sometimes piercing, sometimes soft and colorful -, brushing this complete darkness with its high structures.  

Was it already so late? How long had she been asleep?  

She leaned forward, searching through the scattered clothes on the ground. Her hair fell before her eyes and she had to pull them back frequently. She searched inside the pockets of her pants, pulling her phone out of it and straightening up on the bed with her forearm, pulling her hair back one more time to see clearly. Chloe pressed the satin-smooth sheet more closely against her bare chest, checking with one hand her missed phone calls. No missed call from Ella. She hadn't yet been able to find something interesting with her microscope. Or maybe she had. Knowing her, everything had already been analyzed for a few hours.  

But why bother Chloe during a good shag, right? 

 Her duty could wait in favor of the swinging expression of her carnal passion. Her professional integrity – as strong as she could be – couldn't have forced her to move from that bed, anyway.   

What's the point to fight her desire, then?  

Why not just let go for once?  

Chloe leaned more comfortably against the pillows and dialed her fixed-line phone number. She doubted having Trixie on the line. She was supposed to sleep like a log at this late hour of the night but the detective nevertheless hoped to get some news from her demoniac roommate. She listened distractedly to the frequent tones, playing with the soft texture of the sheet covering her, moving her fingers along each fold on the silky cloth.  

She finally heard a voice on the line. Too much happy and childish to be Mazikeen's. Her daughter's voice. Her little girl supposed to be sound asleep by now.  

_" Hi, Mommy! Where are you? "_ , Trixie exclaimed on the line, a reflex smiling rising on Chloe's lips as she heard her voice.  

" Hi, sweetie. Sorry, but I'm still busy at work. I won't go home tonight, okay? " 

_" Okay... "_ , said the little girl, her mother could easily imaginer her lovely disappointed face.   

" Tell me, Monkey... Why are still up? It's really late. " 

_" Maze told me I could go to bed later tonight! We're_ _gonna_ _watch really cool movies! Kill Bill, Kill Bill part two-… "_ , Trixie listed slowly on the line.  

Kill Bill.  

Watching movies the whole night.  

Why was she still surprised?  

We're talking about Mazikeen. A woman... Well, rather a demon without one single notion of responsibility and maturity. A more feminized version of Lucifer, in short.  

For Gods-…!  

It was like making love with her! From a certain point of view. A point of view that she never wanted to think about again. Never again. Chloe held back a shudder of disgust and tried to interrupt her daughter's frenetic speech.  

" It looks great, Trixie! Hey...Could you give the phone to Maze, darling? I'd like to talk with her. Now, please. "  

_" Okay! "_ , once more cheerfully exclaimed her little girl before doing what she asked.  

Chloe only waited for a few seconds, her roommate's weary voice resounding in her ear.  

_" Yeah...? "_  

" You know Trixie has school tomorrow, huh? ", asked directly the detective.  

_" So? "_ , replied Mazikeen, indifferent or just not knowing the common human habits and traditions ruling her daughter's life.  

" So, there's no way she'll spent the whole night with you to watch violent movies! She should have been in bed for more than an hour, Maze! And do not play surprise with me, I've told you this many times! " 

_" How am I supposed to teach her how to have fun, then? It sucks! "_ , complained the demon.  

A complaint that accentuated Chloe's annoyance.  

How could she explain basic and evident stuff to a demon straight out of Hell? She'd never have thought having this kind of reflection a few weeks ago. Her life had so much changed now. It was changing all the time. Chloe rolled her eyes and tried to stay calm as long as possible. Everything was a matter of time with Mazikeen. And at one time or another, this precious calm would leave her cowardly to give way to a hardly modifiable irritation. Very hardly.  

" Trixie doesn't need to learn how to have fun. ", the detective said as calmly as possible. " She must learn responsibilities! Just like you! A  _responsible_  adult would certainly not show Kill Bill to an eight-years-old child, by the way! " 

_" It's a great movie! "_ , her roommate exclaimed, taking Chloe's advice as an insult about the movie and not as a justified reproach about her way of looking after her daughter.  _" The mean character is an admirable woman who knows how to face hard times and how to cleverly punish her enemies. It's a perfect model for your kid! Maybe s_ _he won't become a frigid chicken like her mother thanks to this movie! "_  

Chloe sat up quickly against the silky pillows, offended by Mazikeen's last comment.  

" I am not a chicken! " 

_" Right...And I'm not a demon! "_ , replied Mazikeen, hardly convinced by her furious exclamation. _" I didn't know you work to Lucifer's penthouse now. Well, I should be glad about that! There's so much worse job than flirting in the Devil's bed...So, how was it? "_ , she asked then, eager for saucy details.  

Of course, she knew.  

It was Mazikeen.  

Did every demon know where and when a person waskeenly _flirting_ with their Infernal Lord and Master? Or was it just Mazikeen – demon or not – who was constantly obsessed with all consenting sexual activity to less than twenty miles around her?  

A relevant question.  

Chloe gently shook her head with her audacity, stunned by her roommate's salacious speech.  

" Okay.  _Maze._.. I'm not gonna tell you about my private life with Lucifer! ", she warned her categorically while pulling the cover up against her chest as she sat up more comfortably on the bed.  

_" Why not? "_ , she was surprised, truly puzzled by Chloe's answer.  _" Friends are supposed to share that kind of stuff,_ _aren't_ _' they? Talking about sex, about-… "_ , she seemed to look for words and other respectable – or more or less interesting according to her – talking points between friends before end again with: _"… sex! "_  

" Yes... but  ** _no!_**  "  

_"_ _Come_ _on, Chloe! Don't play the prude one with me! "_ , immediately complained the demon. _" You know, i_ _t's not like I didn't already know what he's capable of in the sack...or anywhere else. "_ , she said maliciously, Chloe holding back a shudder of disgust by hearing this word and by seeing this awful vision that threatened to invade her mind for the rest of her life. _" I'm more curious about your own display here. "_  

" Okay! Just...Put Trixie to bed, okay? ", The detective evaded, unwilling to go on this slippery slope.  

_" As you like... "_ , finally resigned Mazikeen, seemingly disappointed not to get the slightest saucy details.  _" Oh, wait! Did you try the-_ _…_ _?_ _"_  

" ** _Good night_** , Maze! ", Chloe interrupted her with unusual rapidity, her primary instinct screaming at her to immediately stop this phone talk.  

She firmly pressed the life-saving button stopping the call and threw her phone a little further on the cover, fearing – by keeping it near her – to hear her lustful roommate's horrible carnal stories. All the demons couldn't be so obsessed with sex, right? Well...Lucifer could hardly be related to any kind of chastity. So, what about the creatures living in the infernal hellish meanders?  

What about Mazikeen? His... 

What was she exactly?  

A demon for sure but what  _kind_  of demon? Chloe would have almost immediately bet for the succubus given her licentious hobbies. Still, that didn't agree with the character. Her bondless loyalty towards Lucifer always intrigued her. And it continued to intrigue her. A demon was at its master's beck and call. Though, demons were supposed to be vile, rebellious creatures. It was natural to them, this nightmarish and anarchical existence. Chloe could only suppose according to human theories whispered over the centuries.  

Myths, legends, degrading or true rumors...  

Did Mankind only know the truth?  

This big and vital truth ruling, supporting the founding principles of their short existence through millennia?  

She'd have liked to know every last detail of Lucifer's story. Know his side of the story. He who continually advocated the truth.  

What could be  ** _his_**  truth? Maze's? God's?  

As for Mazikeen's diabolical identity, Chloe thought more about a kind of elite demon. If that really existed. Her roommate gave her that impression, at least. A strong aura. A bondless loyalty towards her partner. An eternal bond. No love, strictly speaking. Something more complicated than that. A solid bond strengthened by the centuries spent together in the Blazing Fire.  

**_" I was forged in the Flames of Hell to torture the guilts for all eternity. "_ **  

Forged.  

By who? Lucifer? Something or someone else?  

**_"_ ** **_Your_ ****_dad_ ****_did_ ****_that_ ****_to_** ** _you_ ** **_? "_ **  

**_"_ ** **_What_ ** **_?_ ** **_Oh,_** ** _no! No_** ** _! That's where I cut my wings off... Well, not me. Maze. I told her to... "_ **  

His wings.  

She had cut his wings off. He asked for it. Lucifer might therefore totally trust her. Chloe was still supposing here. She couldn't certify that. Except his wings were a sensitive subject for Lucifer.  

Why had he willingly cut them off? Why get rid of them?  

Chloe gently stroke her chin with the back of her hand as she tried to imagine something complicated. His wings. Lucifer with his wings. She remembered seeing them during this illegal auction. Replica. A vague copy of his majestic wings which she'd already found magnificent, fake version or not.  

White. Immense. Ineffable. Divine and bright.  

A fluffy light delightful to see.   

She could have felt this light.  

She raised her palm in front of her, distractedly stroking her skin with her thumb. This skin that had touched a fragment of divinity. That hand that had touched Lucifer's Light.  

Chloe had felt it.  

This  _supernatural_  aura. This purity.  

She'd felt it. Briefly, first. A growing sensation as she stopped being shy in the exploration of her partner's scars. Chloe had been able to touch beyond them.  

She'd touched the _angel_.  

Lucifer.  

_" I trust you. "_  

Trust.  

Would he trust her enough one day? Trust her enough to show her his real nature? To willingly show her that tortured face she'd only seen in this shabby bedroom?  

Yes.  

It was just a matter of time. And a matter of patience.  

She had to stay patient.  

A patience that was declining over the time without Lucifer's presence around the bedroom, however.  

Chloe sat up on the bed again, leaning her head toward the open entrance leading into the living room.  

" Lucifer? You're here? "  

Still no oral answer. The young woman let out a slight sigh before leaning toward the black ground, searching once more in the pile of clothes near the bed. She pulled out from it her missing partner's black shirt, allowing herself for a moment to be intoxicated by his heady smell filling the expensive fabric before putting it on her. She rolled the sleeves up to her elbows and released with one hand some lacks of hair stuck in the collar. She threw the cover at the end of the bed, moving her bare feet on the black, cold ground; briefly shivering before straightening up. The cool breeze ruffled her legs as she walked slowly to the entrance of the room, more and more intrigued by Lucifer's prolonged absence. Chloe rubbed her forearms mechanically, going down the marble stairs between the bedroom and the living room. A room empty of any other presence than hers, once again. Chloe looked around her, watching for a movement in the darkened parts of the room. Any verbal and noisy human manifestation that may be related to her missing partner.  

Nothing.  

She stood in the middle of the living room, puzzled.  

Where the hell had he gone?  

Something caught her eye after a brief moment. A white sheet of paper put on the bar. Chloe quickly filled the distance between her and this and took the paper in her hand. She immediately recognized Lucifer's handwriting.  

One single word.  

**" Downstairs "**  

Downstairs? Why?  

Chloe read this word again, frowning, intrigued. She put the paper on the counter, looking to the private elevator and then approaching this confined cabin that would take her to her partner.  

Devil or not, he'd better have a really good reason for his absence.  

 

** ***** ** 

 

The first notes reached her ears as soon as the doors opened. A _shy_ tune, but filling each atom of air by its very existence.  

Chloe stepped out of the elevator and approached the banister, silently looking at Lucifer stroking the keys of his piano in the center of the room. She slowly went down the stairs between them, between her and the music. A score that she thought to have already heard before. Yes, this music was familiar. Watching to Lucifer producing this particular score was also a known vision. She stopped at the bottom of steps, quiet. She leaned against the wooden banister and scrutinized her partner's silhouette. She observed the subtle changes of the light on his skin of his bare back, along his scars. The movement of his muscles with each of his touch on the keys. 

She stood there.... Watching. Listening. Feeling.  

Just feel.  

Lucifer plinked skillfully on the keyboard for a while. A moment followed by a new melody. Not from the instrument, this time.  

No.  

Lucifer's melody.  

His melodious voice. A simple whisper. Weak and yet, filling the whole room so easily. Being heard in the slightest corner of the empty room of any other person than them both.  

A voice.  

His voice. The voice of Heaven. A celestial voice for a celestial song.  

**_Mama_ ** **_take_** ** _this_ ****_badge_** ** _from_ ** **_me_ **  

**_I_** ** _can't_ ****_use_  ** ** _it_ ****_anymore_ **  

Lucifer sang, spoke, showed something powerful. Something sweet. Was it even possible? Each sentence was followed by a second of silence. An essential silence. A brief pause between each lyric, each admission coming out from his lips. Coming out from his Soul.  

**_It's_ ** ******_getting_ ****_dark_ ****_too_** ** _dark_** ** _to_** ** _see_ **  

Another pause.  

Longer. More important than the others. A pensive one. Chloe could almost imagine Lucifer – still turning his back to her – frowning with the intense reflection that paced this pause in the celestial tune. In this admission. An admission which took a complete different meaning with the following lyrics. These lyrics summed everything up.  

Absolutely everything.  

**_And_** ** _I'm_** ** _feel_ ****_I'm_** ** _knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Hea_** ** _ven's_ ****_door_ **  

 

A pause again. A pause during which Lucifer seemed to be fully aware of what these words implied. What they implied for him. For her. For this moment. He continued softly and strongly at the same time:  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_ ** **_Heaven's_** ** _door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_ ** **_Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_ ** **_Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

Each repetition was stronger, more intense than the previous one. A repetition deeply entering in the air, like a shameful prayer. A repetition softening and giving way to another melodious, dreamy pause. A pause only filled by Lucifer's hands movement.  

**_Mama_ ** **_puts_ ****_my_ ****_guns in the_** ** _ground_ ** ****  

**_I_ ****_can't_ ****_shoot_  ** ** _them_ ****_anymore_ **  

The tune became stronger after this loud resignation, his voice rising even higher, even more powerfully around her. Around him. Around this new pause annihilated by his voice.  

**_That cold black cloud_** ** _is_ ****_comin_ ** **_'_** ** _around_ ** ****  

**_And_  ** ** _I'm_ ****_feel_** ** _I'm_ ****_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ ** ****  

 

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_ ** **_Heaven's_** ** _door_ **  

**_Fells_ ****_like_** ** _I'm_ ** ****  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_Fell's_  ** ** _like_  ** ** _I'm_ ** ****  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ** ******_doo_** ** _r_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_  ** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

His voice softened suddenly, becoming just a slight whisper. A whisper reciting shyly and almost mournfully the chorus of the song:  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_  ** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_Fells_ ****_like_  ** ** _I'm_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

A sudden explosion ensued this. A powerful seraphic symphony following this singing breath, making Chloe shudder as Lucifer pressed more strongly the keys, his own body tensed by this far too intense expression.  

**_Mama tell me_ **  

 

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_ ** **_Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_Fells_** ** _like_  ** ** _I'm_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_  ** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

**_Fells_** ** _like_** ** _I'm_ ** ****  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_** ** _door_ **  

**_K_** ** _nock-Knock-_ ** **_knockin_ ** **_' on_** ** _Heaven's_ ****_door_ **  

A last silence. One last necessary melodious pause. One last tune without any words.  

Just...that perception inherent to this moment. To this song.  

To this very last admission.  

Chloe didn't move immediately, keeping to watch her partner discreetly. Watching his posture. Each of his thoughts, each reflection was showing in his way to move, in his slow and deep breathing, in his facial inclination. An intense reflection that filled not only his mind, but also his body in its entirety.  

What was he thinking about?  

The young woman briefly hesitated before coming closer, Lucifer keeping to show his back to her.  

" It was...beautiful. ", she said, sincere.  

Lucifer sat up slightly, turning his face to her and giving her a faint smile. He vaguely shrugged as Chloe sat beside him on the black bench, her bare legs brushing the fabric of his pants.  

" The devil is a talented being on many levels, as you know! ", recited the devil in question with a falsely provocative tone.  

" Almost as talented as Lucifer. ", the detective replied softly, Lucifer meeting her eyes.  

There was no Devil according to her. The devil didn't exist. He had never existed.  

Not for her.  

It was just a required role. A false mask without profoundness. The monster hiding under the bed... without actually being there.  

Lucifer was _Lucifer_.  

No devil.  

No monster.  

Just Lucifer.  

And Chloe ardently wanted him to understand that. She wanted him to accept this point of view. This obvious truth. This truth he almost screamed himself without accept it.  

Lucifer's gaze softened by hearing her words, a smile equally sweet rising on his lips. She smiled to him in turn. She came closer to him - shoulder against shoulder, leg against leg – while he stroked some keys randomly. He was pensive again.  

" I thought you hated that song. ", said Chloe, touching a pearly key in front of her.  

" I hate it, yeah... " 

" So, why did you play it? ", she asked, gently pushing him with her shoulder.  

Lucifer shook his head gently, pensive. He frowned, his eyes becoming blurry with another intense reflection.  

" I-… I really don't know. It's just come like that, when I was thinking about-… ", he told her before stopping, feeling uncomfortable.  

" What's wrong? " 

He remained silent for a moment, stubbornly pensive. Chloe waited patiently for him to deign to explain what disturbed him so much. Let him to speak his mind, whatever it was. Lucifer sighed deeply, shaking once again his head like he didn't understand himself his own torment.  

" I can't stop thinking about this  _thing_. This feeling that hasn't left me for a few days, now. Maybe more? Well, it doesn't matter... ", he quickly continued with a vague gesture of the hand. " This feeling is there every time you touch me or you look at me. And I-… I can't define what it means. It's not something painful. Not really... " 

He paused, stroking again the keyboard before continuing:  

" I'm sure I've felt this before. Not so intensely, but... It's almost the same. ", Lucifer said, his face still expressing a rather significant confusion. " I can't-… I can't put a precise word about what I feel when I'm near you. So... I let the music express what I couldn't clearly formulate. ", he told her, pressing harder his finger on a key, a high-pitched note coming just after.  

Lucifer put his hand on his leg, a soft smile on his lips as he scrutinized the keyboard intensely, Chloe scrutinizing him with the same intensity. With the same  _surprising_  fascination.  

" Music is sometimes more eloquent than mere words, isn't it? Being with you...near you, it's like...Knocking on Heaven's Doors. " 

He shook once again his head with disbelief, seemingly surprised to feel this sort of things. To compare his feelings with a light touch on the Celestial Doors that had been closed to him for millennia. 

 It looked absurd to want something like that, didn't it? To feel such desire, such need. A simple desire. And so complicated.  

Lucifer turned to Chloe, plunging his eyes to hers. She stared at him briefly before joining his mouth to hers, before joining their shared feeling. This indefinable sensation. Not with words. Only by gestures. Or a divine melody. She raised her hand and placed it on his cheek, brushing his stubble with her palm.  

Brushing Lucifer.  

Chloe tried to give through that kiss – seemingly so simple, so trivial – the strength of her own feelings for him. What she felt for him. Expressing this power far beyond words. Far beyond all common sense.  

Expressing.  

She finally pulled away, her hand still against his cheek, and looked at him. Just as he looked at her. He smiled softly, instantly relaxing to her touch against his skin, squinting questioningly.  

" What was that for? ", he asked, intrigued.  

Chloe shrugged.  

" The same as you. ", she replied with a smirk. " There weren't appropriate words to express what I felt, so... " 

Lucifer leaned towards her, his nose stroking the detective's, a particular glim enlightening his irises as he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders.  

" Well... We should just give up the idea of talking for a while. ", he suggested with his bewitching voice. " Why talk when we can  _express_ , huh? " 

The detective laughed lightly by listening to him, enjoying Lucifer's proximity as much as his smell or his breath against her own cheek. She felt a shrill tickled the back of her neck as her partner tightened his embrace around her shoulders, causing her to get closer to him. He gave her a tempting smile, staring at her with passion. His gaze stopped a little longer on his black shirt.  

" This shirt is certainly not a pajama, you know! Not at the price I bought it! ", he thought good to specify with an ounce of reproach in his voice.  

Chloe smiled again. A more malicious smile. More _provocative_. She ran her hand over her partner's perfect abdomen. He quivered at this touch as she lowered her thin fingers to his pants. His breathing increased significantly, stroking once more the detective's face and also making her quiver with pleasure.  

" Too bad. I probably should take it off, then... ", she whispered in his ear, Lucifer's body still quivering against her.  

She lowered her face to his neck, brushing it with her lips. His satisfied sigh heated the bare skin of her shoulder this time while Lucifer began to release her from this expensive clothing item.  

Lucifer granting with a voice filled of desire:  

" Yes... You're right. You probably should take it off... " 

 

** ***** ** 

 

A heat.  

Against her. In front of her.  

It was this pervasive and subtly different heat in these two places which awakened the rest her senses numbed until then by the limbo. A shy heat in front of her that was tickling her face, intensifying over time. Becoming more insistent with each new aerial caress. A comforting heat against her, her back intimately linked to this pleasant sensation. A heat with a _beat_ echoing inside her muscles, her heart beating in unison with this strange palpitation.  

Chloe gently opened her eyes, a bright light briefly assaulting them. She blinked several times, watching the various tinting in the skies before her.  

It was early. Too early.  

Lucifer's warm breath tickled her neck, Chloe closing her eyes and enjoying this gentle breathing against her skin. She stroked with her fingertips his arm firmly and affectionately wrapping her waist over the silky cover. Enjoying this proximity. This intimacy she had so much tried to avoid. This delightful embrace expressing many more things than mere words. She leaned more comfortably against his torso, Lucifer instinctively tightening his embrace around her waist, his heady breath ruffling her hair. She let herself be lulled by it and by the pink shades of the morning sky as sleep slowly surrounded her body again.  

Yes.  

There were no words strong enough to express this feeling.  

After all,... 

Why bother to say  _" I love you "_  when we could just... 

… Knocking on Heaven's Doors?  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC with.... " Epilog "  
> _____________________________  
> Lucifer's song is – Knocking on Heaven's Doors (Raign)  
> Lovely song to visualize the atmosphere on the last part of the chapter – The Call (Regina Spektor)  
> _____________________________
> 
> Next chapter is the last! Ready? XD


	20. Epilog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are... It's the end TT  
> This is so sad!  
> I'm sorry for the delay but I've been really busy, lately. I didn't forget you as you can see!  
> Read it, comment it!
> 
> Song advice : " A Thousand Years " - Christina Perri (maybe cliché but it's perfect for this chapter! )

Positive. 

No, that was-… No. 

_Positive._

So, the reverse of negative. 

But... No, it couldn't be. No way. 

Impossible. 

It. Was. Not.  ** _Possible!_**

Chloe struggled to calm her excited breathing and her impetuous heartbeats against her ribcage. 

Positive. 

It couldn't be. It was a mistake. Yes. A banal and ridiculous mistake somewhere. The young woman leaned to the floor, grabbing the cardboard wrapping and staring at each side of it; waiting for an explanation, concise instructions. Something that would prove that this positive wasn't... _positive!_

It could be anything else: negative, multiple...

But surely not positive! 

Positive. 

She scrutinized insistently and without blinking – with a look that could have burned anything and everything by the tension holding into her gray irises – one of the sides covered with a tiny writing hard enough to understand correctly in her state. She straightened while reading the instructions, her lips sketching each syllable duly translated without the slightest sound coming out of her mouth. She lifted her head, instinctively gripping the cardboard wrapping between her fingers, and read again the last lines on it for a long time. Chloe turned to the sink, throwing the wrapping in the tub with one hand while moving a trembling arm to the plastic object on the corner of the sink. She grabbed it between her fingers, absent-mindedly stroking its stiff ends as her mind was trying to understand the meaning of this simple notion. 

Positive. 

She stared a long time at the tiny screen inserted into this white device, her eyes widening with surprise couldn't accept this simple picture. This simple positive symbol. She stroked it with her thumb, gently at first and then more feverishly. Maybe was It just a stain or any other degradation that gave form to this positive symbol? A possibility that faded as quickly as the young woman's intense gestures. She inhaled and exhaled strongly, her throat suddenly blocked by emotion. Chloe slowly lowered her hand. That shivering hand partially hiding the screen until then. She stared at the symbol for a long time again. That purely mathematical symbol that will disrupt her whole life.  _Their_  life. 

A simple symbol. Basic. Insignificant. 

A symbol that changed everything. 

Positive. 

Slowly... Very slowly, Chloe turned to the mirror above the sink, scrutinizing with a undefinable gleam in her gaze her own reflection. This reflection of her own complete confusion. Was that really her? This  _unnerved_  woman, stunned by this pharmaceutical device and the result it gave to her? The reflection of total incomprehension. 

It was unbelievable, indeed. 

Positive. 

How? 

How could she be-…? 

"… _pregnant ?_  ", she whispered to her reflection. 

A whisper closer to a prayer said to this stunned woman trapped in the mirror. By this idea. This positive. A request for confirmation by saying out loud this unlikely possibility. That was unexpected. She wanted to have a confirmation or a denial of this. The guarantee that all this was just a  _really_  bad joke. Yet her own reflection showed her nothing more – or nothing less – than the vision of her growing disbelief. 

Pregnant. 

Chloe hardly swallowed, her throat stubbornly blocked by the intense and nearly painful emotion throbbing inside her veins. She stepped back, her lost look still staring at its reflection as she sat on the edge of her tub behind her. She pressed her shaking fingers to the cold side and let out a noise looking like a mixture of a surprised exclamation and a hoarse cry. 

How-… How was this even possible? 

She was taking the pill! Wasn't it supposed to prevent this, was it? 

_Was it?_

What if it was just a false positive? It could be that. Pregnancy tests were not infallible. Not always. She stared at her reflection once again, meeting in the intensity of her gray gaze the complete negation about this possibility. 

No. 

The result was right there. 

It was right. Positive. Stubbornly positive. 

Her body, her mind and sensations were screaming this positivity. She couldn't denial what she saw, how she felt. Even less after having already experienced a previous pregnancy. The detective knew these  _unique_  sensations. Indefinable, fleeting and yet, true to life. 

She was pregnant. Period. 

Chloe took a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes as she exhaled as long as she could, her clenched fingers against the rim gradually loosening that painful and essential grip. She opened her eyes, calmer but still a bit agitated. A semblance of calm that helped her to get her thoughts in order, her thoughts previously disturbed by this consequential news. A calm that allowed her to study the situation in concrete terms. She counted mentally and rather eagerly – this eager manifesting by her bare foot tapping regularly the cold floor – the days between now and her last periods. If she wasn't mistaken – a mistake was still possible, especially in her present state of agitation -, it would have happened when...when they had...for the very first time. 

_"_ _Cliché_ _. Classic... "_ , the detective thought immediately, shaking her head. 

A rational thought. A ludicrous one but that was all she could do better than this right now. A reduced rationality sneaking into every corner of her mind stressed by this intense anxiety. Rationalize this news. That unexpected pregnancy. It was unexpected. And for good reason! Chloe was careful about that. Always. The birth-control pill was infallible, wasn't it? 

Well...

Was it effective when your boyfriend was none other than the Lord of Hell? 

This possibility hit the young woman, who was sitting up slightly against the uncomfortable rim. Other possibilities ruffled her over-active analytical mind. 

And if...

And if she'll give birth to Antichrist?!

" Don't be silly, Chloe. ", she muttered, rolling her eyes at her contingent stupidity. 

This wouldn't be a monster. Just like Lucifer wasn't-… 

Chloe froze for a moment, her lost look staring at the spotless ground under her feet without really seeing it. She slowly moved her right hand from the rim. Still slowly, with a gesture filled with uncertainty and disbelief, she put her hand on her belly over her oversize gray tee-shirt. She stroked this still flat area with her fingertips. Flat and yet, sheltering a scintillation, a light of life. 

_His_  light. Their light. 

A baby. 

She was going to have a baby... with Lucifer. 

Chloe lowered her head – her long messy hair following her move along her shoulders – and stared at her hand against her belly, becoming fully aware of the situation. She pressed her fingers against the gray fabric and let out a shaky exclamation, a slight smile coming with this verbal expression of her emotion. 

Pregnant. From Lucifer. 

She looked at her reflection again. A whole new vision. Another woman transfigured by this news. Amazed. A woman stroking tenderly this internal light. This life taking root, enlightening every inch of her body. And that would enlighten her existence. Their existence. 

A new light. 

A few knocks against the door made her start, Chloe dropping the pregnancy test that felt under the sink before her. She looked at the handle turning with pressure practiced on it by the other person in the corridor, the door remaining stubbornly closed and impassable. The person knocked at the door again. Chloe didn't dare to move an inch, barely breathing. It was like one single inhalation would be fatal to her by showing her presence here. 

" Chloe? ", asked Lucifer's deep voice outside. " What are you doing,  _Love_? "

She cleared her throat and tried to speak without any trembling in her voice, which were stubbornly going all over her body. 

" I'm coming! I-...I'm just gonna take a shower, right now. Could you make the breakfast for me? " 

With these words, the young woman leaned towards the faucet of the bath tub and turned it on to avoid suspicion. The flow of this warm water was the only sound that filled the seconds following her speech. She waited, her hand a few millimeters away from the faucet, her gray look staring at the closed door. She could almost see Lucifer behind it, his ear against the light wooden door, frowning with his hand still on the handle. 

" Are you sure you don't need help? ", he suggested smoothly. " It looks terribly difficult and quite risky... Maybe your partner's help would be really useful here, wouldn't it? " 

" Just... Keep an eye on Trixie and Maze downstairs, Lucifer. ", Chloe smiled, distinctly hearing him sighing with frustration beyond the constant sound of the water flowing along the cold inside of her tub. " I don't want to see Maze near the oven or any another kitchen utensil! I'm tired of constantly calling firefighters! "

" Why are you punishing me for Maze's domestic gaps?! This is unfair, Chloe! ", Lucifer complained.

" Not if the reward equals the punishment. ", she replied immediately, knowing perfectly well how buying her some time. 

The time she needed to think. 

Lucifer judging this task as an unbearable punishment, the possibility of an equivalent reward was rather tempting. He knew it. As she did. He seemed to hem and haw briefly before finally sighing deeply with resignation behind the door. Spending time with her daughter and his demon didn't please him, but it wasn't a high price to pay for the promise of a sustained carnal activity later in the day. Last night hadn't been without physical sharing either. So, he could wait a few hours. He should do so, at least. A constraint that he finally seemed to accept, Chloe constantly surprised by her partner's efforts. He complained, grumbled, cursed, … Yes. But Lucifer wouldn't be Lucifer without the least complain justified or not for every request asked by the young woman who shared his life now. As he shared hers. 

" Don't be too long... I'm not sure I'll survive long enough near these ruthless monsters! ", he said before Chloe heard him walking away from the door and going down the stairs to the living room. 

She allowed herself a sigh of relief as she moved her hand away from the faucet, letting the warm water flow at her thoughts pace. She kneeled on the floor, getting the test back under the sink and looked again at this positive symbol occupying the entire digital screen. 

How to tell him? 

She couldn't just fling this information between two pancakes and then move on to something else! It was an important change. For any regular couple. An even bigger change for both of them. For her. 

Lucifer... a father? Was it only  _possible?_ She wanted to believe it, really... 

Lucifer had shown a lot of patience between two of his wrathful complains about cheap clothing or one of their encouraging carnal embrace interrupted by a certain child. She was surprised by this constant  _harmony_ between them. They argued, of course. A lot. But which couple didn't, right? 

Two months. 

Two months that she felt  _happy_  when she woke up. A short period during which so many things have changed. For the better, mainly. Some having been... more complicated. 

Revealing to Dan the identity of her devilish boyfriend, for instance. Talking about this sensitive subject was already a highly hazardous step. Her ex-husband might well boast about being sympathetic, attentive... This noble behavior seemed much easier on the paper than in reality. Talking about this equably seemed than being caught in the act, in a more or less compromising posture. In her defense, Chloe didn't think being caught in the act at Lucifer's home. His penthouse should have been a perfectly secured place from any inappropriate incursion during an intense carnal sharing. Especially concerning the bad-tempered ex. Okay, well...

Going with the tempting flow with her lover on his piano wasn't really... 

But how could she have anticipated that Daniel would come without warning for a case while they were busy to...?!

Fortunately, they just had begun foreplay! 

The event was still fresh in the detective's mind. 

 

** ***** ** 

 

Her, languorously lying on the dark smooth surface of the musical instrument. Lucifer pulling sharply her jeans to free her legs from this rigid fabric, brushing with his lips Chloe's skin along her waist. Brushing this particular spot still protected from their shared desire by short-lived clothing. Chloe scratching the black wood of the piano with each powerful and sneaky touch along her sensitive epidermis. Completely lost in these exhilarating sensations partially masking her senses. Not hearing, or barely, the typical piping sound of the elevator. This piping sound informing another unwanted human presence.  _The_  unwilling human. She had felt her partner's hands – soft and yet blazing against her skin, giving this almost unbearable warmth to her whole corporal senses – playing gently with the elastic of her lingerie. Pulling it down just as gently. 

Very slowly. Too slowly. And probably slowly enough to avoid a major incident, if not avoid the minor incident announced by this piping sound. 

**_" Holy_ ** **_Sh_ ** **_-…! "_ **

Chloe had started sharply against the hard surface where she was lying, partially stripped, if not almost completely; widening his eyes with stupefaction as she recognized Daniel standing near the elevator. Lucifer had also raised his head – hitherto buried between his partner's legs roused by his labial movements -, staring annoyingly at her troublemaking ex-husband who was deeply shocked by what was happening in front of him. The initial shock had quickly been replaced by a hardly contained rage, his hand clenching the file he had brought with him. Clenching his teeth, his features strongly tensed by this all-consuming rage, Daniel had pointed the file to Lucifer in a threatening gesture. 

"  _You_... Get away from my wife! ", he told him. 

Lucifer had moved slightly away from Chloe, expressing right away her own outraged thoughts with less form and much more defiance, however. 

" You should read again attentively the divorce papers, Daniel. ", he advised him as the detective tried to get dressed, staring carefully at both. " Better still: check the word in the dictionary. Because, at the risk of disappointing you, Chloe is no longer  ** _your_**  wife! She's  ** _mine_** in the same way as I'm hers completely! And if you still have trouble to understand, which would hardly be surprising, I suggest you to calmly think about what we were doing before a bloody  _douche_ comes and interrupts us! "

Chloe had followed this particularly intense talk in the background, sitting on the edge of the piano, busy rebuttoning her shirt and pulling up her jeans as quickly as possible before they come to blows. Which hadn't take long  _at all_  to come. 

Daniel had stared incredulously at Lucifer for a second, just stunned by her boyfriend's words. Her partner couldn't help but giving a victorious mocking smile to her ex, of course. A smile that could have its charm for the young woman, but certainly not for Daniel. It was the opposite, actually. Daniel had moved his other hand to his gun while stiffing a sharp swear. 

Chloe was then standing between the two douches, Lucifer being also ready to come to blows with a barely contained jubilation, pointing in turn a threatening finger to her ex-husband. 

**_" Do not even think about it! "_ **

She then turned to Lucifer, who stopped his move as he noticed his obvious and justified partner's anger, hesitating. 

" The same for you, too, Lucifer! "

" Chloe, you can't-…! ", had begun Daniel, Chloe having again vehemently interrupted him. 

" Dan... Don't start! "

He had begun to laugh bitterly as he shook his head, a bitter smile coming on his face stubbornly tensed with anger. Chloe had taken Lucifer's arm, looking him in the eye. 

" Lucifer... Can you give us a minute, please? "

"  _What?!_  But-…! ", he had exclaimed, stunned to have to leave her alone with this douche. " Chloe, we were-…! '

" I know. But I need to talk to him. " 

Lucifer had deeply sighed with frustration as he had looked confusingly at his partner, apparently not understanding the purpose or the need to have a talk with Daniel. 

"  _Why?_ It's a bloody waste of time given his minor I.Q.! "

" Maybe, but it's important to me.  _Please._  ", she had insisted, moving her hand to his chest. 

Another deep sigh had been letting out by her partner beyond her ex-husband's noisy steps. A loud resignation from Lucifer about her demands. 

" Fine! ", he had submitted reluctantly, yet glaring at Daniel before continuing reproachfully: " But we better keep going  _this_  when you're done with this-... with him! "

With these words, Lucifer had walked to the elevator, he and Daniel looking daggers at each other like every man fiercely defending his territory, and had let the two former spouses having a word with each other. Daniel had  _almost_  patiently waited the closing of the doors to lose his temper. Almost. 

" For God sake's, tell me I'm hallucinating, Chloe! ", he had implored her, still stunned. " Tell me you haven't humiliated yourself by sleeping with this-…! " 

" Well, it's too late to feel  _so_ bad for me! Lucifer and I aren't at our first ride! And it won't be the last, so deal with it! ", she had replied with a stinging tone, annoyed by her ex-husband's behavior. 

He had remained silent for a moment, seeming to think about the current situation lengthily before staring at the detective 

" Is it him? "

She'd stared at him, confused, not knowing what he was talking about. 

" Was it him on the phone, in the kitchen? ", he had asked her gently. 

" Yes. ", she had whispered. " I'm sorry, Dan. Really. I didn't mean to hide this from you, but-… I was afraid that you'd react like this. I was just waiting the right time to tell you! " 

Daniel had nodded, his head still lowered to the floor while he had frowned, a twitch hiding his consternation about this news. He had his hands on his hips, again staring at Chloe silently for a few seconds. 

" Do you love him? ", he had asked. 

A weighty question to which the detective had answered without thinking. A sincere answer. 

" Yes. "

" And him? He loves you? "

" Yes. " 

Another sincere answer. Lucifer loved her. He'd never said it clearly, but...yes. He'd told her, in a way. A declaration more melodious than verbal. 

Daniel had lowered his head again, coming to terms with his ex-wife's answers and thinking about his possibilities. Deny the whole thing or accept it and move on. He had shrugged to seem relaxed, although his whole body had still been tensed with the rage he'd previously felt. He had pinched his lips before submitting: 

" Alright. I guess I-I'll have to deal with it. For you and... for Trixie. " 

" Thanks, Dan. It means a lot to me... "

They had both smiled shyly, putting an end to this unfortunate chapter. Daniel had had then another smile. A stranger one, more thoughtful. He had once again shrugged before saying lightly: 

" At least, I can be sure he'll never let something wrong happen to you! '

" Why? ", Chloe had asked him, curious. 

" I don't know. It's just that... When I see him, I-… Don't you dare to tell him I said that, but he looks like the kind of guy you don't anger without consequences. 'Looks like he'll be ready to... send roast to Hell whoever dares to hurt you! "

And Chloe couldn't have helped but laughing nervously by hearing this description close enough to reality. 

 

** ***** **

 

Except this unfortunate and  _fortunate_  incident, Lucifer had learned to live like a human being, so to speak. 

Less swinging parties in his daily life, no more compulsive seduction to the female  _and_ male sex; which was more an habit than real desire to look elsewhere, Lucifer having been perfectly about this subject. Getting used to his partner's life, getting used to Trixie... To a banal family life, diametrically to his previous lifestyle. 

A big effort, she was perfectly aware of it and only loved him more to try. All these concessions were a real challenge for the devil. For Lucifer, simply. Spending time together didn't usually bother them. Dealing with Trixie and Mazikeen around was more _delicate_. Living with others was already a challenge. Combine it with the fact that your partner was a quick temper fallen angel and that your roommate, aggressive demon without any common sense, did her best to spoil on purpose all your possibilities of private activities... It became unlivable rather quickly. 

Lucifer and Chloe needed space. 

They needed a place on their own. A place that wouldn't be her partner's luxurious penthouse or her narrow bedroom. Somewhere just for them. Them and Trixie. No more gap. 

A home they'd choose together. 

An absurd idea according to Lucifer, not that he was particularly hesitant about it, but he simply didn't know anything about these banal steps in a relationship. Until now. An idea, a possibility, a future he was only beginning to comprehend. To accept. For her. Just for her. 

And now...She was pregnant. 

Now she demanded him, by this unexpected and yet wonderful pregnancy, another effort. A huge one. 

Maybe would it be just too much for him? No one could boast of having to face such a dilemma. Revealing or not her pregnancy to the devil himself. 

To Lucifer. 

Lucifer who didn't fully understand parental responsibilities. How could he understand something he'd never experienced in his own life? 

God. Charlotte...

From what Chloe had been able to find out, between two intense talks with Linda and some personal research about the Bible history, these two divinities were certainly not the best parents since the beginning of time. 

They had kicked Lucifer out of Heaven. They'd rejected their son for only wanting freedom. 

How? 

How would we do this to our own child? 

Tenderness, The comforting presence of a parent near him... 

Lucifer didn't know those things. Not at all. Being a parent, taking care of a child... Of  ** _his_** child...

Did he only want a child? 

Did she? 

The answer came almost immediately, burning fiercely inside her, in every parcel of her soul. 

Yes! Of course, she did! 

A stupid and maybe reasonable question, but nevertheless stupid. A question for a single answer. An unchanging one. 

_Yes._

A desire. An unwavering instinct, which maybe wasn't for Lucifer. 

Had he ever thought about this possibility one day? Could angels normally conceive? 

How to talk to him about it? How to be honest with him when he wasn't? How could she do this while he still hadn't told her, showed his face? His identity? A part of it, at least. An important part, however. 

Chloe had often notice this look, his dark eyes on her as she was packing things or doing something else. An intense look. A look reflecting a desire to take the plunge. To tell her the truth. To trust her. A desire quickly blurring in favor of another gleam. A greedy one. 

She's have liked so much that this desire, this gleam lasts more. That it turns into words. Into a moment of trust. This such long-awaited and essential moment. 

A trust that was missing right now. 

Chloe wanted to trust him. That they trust each other, but...

A baby...it was...

And Lucifer was...  _Lucifer_. 

A man. An angel, a devil mostly irresponsible with each of his actions. Deliberately or not. 

What if... ? What if he panicked at the idea of being a father? 

What if he ran away, rejecting everything they had together? 

Maybe...

Maybe there was nothing to worry about. Lucifer could react well about this news, couldn't he? He could surprise her, once again. Maybe she was the only one to panic about this pregnancy. An unreasonable panic. Or maybe not that much. 

Maybe. 

Chloe squeezed the test between her thin fingers, anxious. Her heart kept fiercely beating inside her chest, each heartbeat resounding in unison with the noisy boiling water in the tub. She ran her hand through her wet hair. A dense vapor now occupied every inch of the room. She scrutinized this positive symbol in her hands again. Staring at the decision to make. 

Trust... or not. 

She wiped the vapor hiding the digital screen with her thumb and gently straightened up. She turned off the faucet and unlocked the door of the bathroom, a big cloud of smoke following her in the corridor. The detective firmly held the pregnancy test in her hand, this tangible trust against her sweaty palm, as she headed for the stairs. 

Towards Lucifer. 

She caught snatches of conversation as she slowly went down the stairs between her and her partner. Between her and that decision to make or not. 

Each step seemed more difficult than the previous one. More laborious. She arrived faster than she'd have liked to the bottom of the stairs and cautiously walked to the open-plan kitchen, the test still in her hand. She leaned against the wall near the stairs, looking discreetly at the funny show in front of her. Looking at a simply dressed Lucifer: dark faded jeans and a black crumpled shirt replacing his traditional suit. Looking at his messy hair, at his hands on the kitchen counter as he stared incredulously at her daughter who was eating factory-made cereals in a bowl. 

" This is bloody insane! ", he exclaimed as Trixie ate another dollop of cereals. " You can't prefer these chemical filths to my perfect food! " 

" You can't understand, Lucifer. ", replied Mazikeen, sitting next her daughter and browsing a magazine as she took from time to time another filth from the open box on the wooden counter. 

" Because there's nothing to understand here! ", he said, annoyed. " That's sheer madness! "

" It's  _so good_ , Lucifer! ", said Trixie, stretching her bowl overflowed with milk and cereals to him. " You should try it! "

Lucifer stepped back quickly, glaring at this threatening bowl, highly dangerous for his health and his taste for good things. He put his hands before him in warning, on his guards. Trixie giggled happily with his excessive reaction. As usual. 

" I don't eat  _poison_ , thanks child! "

Chloe wouldn't have known if this really banal family scene was the only one responsible for what would follow or if it was just due to her previous anxiety. 

Whether it was one or the other, the result was the same. 

A last-minute waiver. Maybe more dormant than Chloe would admit. Maybe it'd been inside her since always. Since she'd found out this positivity. 

The detective moved from the wall, walking slowly – the three children keeping scratching each other's eyes out without seeing her- to the trash can on the corner of the counter, out of sight. She threw the test into it before heading to her devil, who was still arguing about her crazy spawn's tastes. According to his own words, of course. He stopped his little speech quickly, turning instinctively to her, a radiant smile shining his features previously tensed with frustration. Chloe stood on tip-toe, wrapping her arms around his neck while touching his lips with hers. Lucifer came closer to her to deepen the morning kiss, which was much more delicious than any another food on Earth. 

Trixie giggle again, she always did when she saw them kiss or express their feelings for the other, while Mazikeen sighed and turned another page of her magazine. 

Chloe moved away slightly, her nose touching his, a smile just as slight coming on her lips eager for other kisses. For other private touch. Lucifer wrapped her waist with his arms, also smiling, Trixie's tastes suddenly no longer mattered. 

" I thought you  _really_ had to take a shower... ", he told her softly. 

" It can wait. "

Yes. 

That decision could wait. 

** THE END... For now!  **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC with the sequel: " Une question de confiance "  
> ____________________________________________________________
> 
> Yes. I'm planning to write a sequel to this story. First, I have to write it in French (which won't happen quickly, sorry about that) and then translate it for you. It can take a while, but I'll do it.  
> Thank you for reading me until the end. I can't wait for your comments about this last chapter! You can ask me questions about the sequel, of course.  
> Thank you, thank you! Really!

**Author's Note:**

> And...of course, comments highly appreciated !


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